LANDac (The Netherlands Land Academy) and ILC (the International Land Coalition) currently
offer WUR master students* research internship positions at ILC partner organizations around the world. These internship positions provide students relevant working experience and the
opportunity to put their research skills to practice, while simultaneously contributing to the
objectives and goals of international organizations working on good land governance.
COVID-19 Implications
Even though WUR students currently are not allowed to carry out any fieldwork, we do want to
offer students the opportunity to graduate on time. Originally, these researches would have been
carried out on site, however, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, they will take place in a different
form, most likely as a desk research. It is important to note that these vacancy descriptions were
written before the COVID-19 outbreak and therefore the students and partner organizations
together should start discussions on how to alter these research topics.
The Vacancies
Below is a short summary of the LANDac-ILC internships. For more information and details, have a look at the attached document.
Vacancy II: Leasehold and Rented land as Collateral for Financing Small-Scale Agriculture in the Caribbean
Small scale agriculture in Caribbean Small Island States is hampered by a plethora of challenges. One key challenge is the access to finance for small scale farmers which limits their ability to be viable and retain lands under agriculture. For historical reasons, many farmers do not own the land they farm but operate under different forms of tenure, such as, leasehold, rental, and informal occupation. In some countries of the Caribbean, financial institutions do not consider alternate forms of tenure on land as collateral which can be used to secure a loan while other Caribbean countries leasehold land can be used as collateral. Further, a bank may have branches in different countries in the Caribbean with a variance in policy based law or practice on the country. The study will analyse, in five Caribbean countries, the policy of financial institutions using alternate forms of tenure as collateral and the rationale behind policy differences.
Organization
The Caribbean Network for Urban and Land Management (CNULM)
Prerequisites
B.Sc. in Agriculture, Land Use Planning or a related discipline | Experience with alternate land tenure or financing of agriculture will be an asset | Good command of English
More information can be found here.
Vacancy III: Assessment of the Feasibility of Collection Data for the Suite of LANDex Indicators in Trinidad and Tobago
Information on land rights in the Caribbean is limited. LANDex is an indicator system based on the ILC’s ten commitments and allows for the monitoring of People Centered Land Governance in a country. Based on an analysis of the existing LANDex methodologies the following challenges to data gathering in Caribbean Islands are foreseen: lack of data; institutions not sharing data; cost and complexity in conducting surveys; lack of suitable experts. Assessing the feasibility of data collecting in Trinidad and Tobago can allow for persons and institutions with appropriate data to be identified as well as country specific survey design methodologies to be created. While it is not expected for all the data to be collected, attempting to collect the data will identify challenges to be addressed and strategies for further data collection. This research will facilitate the adaptation of LANDex to the Caribbean.
Organization
The Caribbean Network for Urban and Land Management (CNULM)
Prerequisites
B.Sc. in a land related discipline | knowledge of the use of indicators such as LANDex | Prior experience in surveys or data collection | good command of English
More information can be found here.
Vacancy IV: Cross-Regional Synthesis of Multi- Stakeholder Platforms to Improve Land Governance
Land governance is recognized as a complex system beyond the control of individual group of stakeholders, thus requiring approach that deal with dynamic problems in complex environments with multiple actors and functions. One type of response has been the promotion of Multi-stakeholder platforms (MSPs) as an approach to policy dialogue in the field of land and natural resource governance. Benefits associated with MSPs in the land governance sector include greater inclusivity, ownership, and sustainability of land policy reform. Two structural constraints prevent greater cohesiveness and coordination among MSPs stakeholders. Firstly, while the purpose and function of MSPs in the land governance sector are widely accepted, the differences in approaches, implementation modalities and scale have created a fragmented MSP ecosystem. Secondly, the current body of evidence on the extent to which programmes using MSP approach deliver results is thin. Given the prominence and proliferation of MSPs, it has become imperative to review the results achieved by initiatives that use MSP’s to improve land governance.
Organization
International Land Coalition, Secretariat
Prerequisites
English, French or Spanish will be considered an advantage
More information can be found here.
Sociology of Development and Change 