Land, Resilience and Sustainable Development in the Caribbean

Editorial — Across the Caribbean region, a growing consensus recognises that effective land governance and management are central to building resilience and achieving sustainable development. Land is the platform on which societies function, economies thrive, and adaptation to climate change must occur.

From secure tenure to modern registries, systematic improvements in land governance are driving resilience, equity and growth across several Caribbean countries and territories — a region where land has long been acknowledged as foundational for sustainable development. (Photo: Uladzik Kryhin)

Across the Caribbean region — spanning the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the Overseas Countries and Territories—a growing consensus recognises that effective land governance and management are central to building resilience and achieving sustainable development. Land is the platform on which societies function, economies thrive, and adaptation to climate change must occur.

When land systems are weak, fragmented or inequitable, the result is greater vulnerability, stunted development and missed opportunities. When they are strong, transparent and inclusive, they create the conditions for security, prosperity and resilience.

Climate Pressures and Development Risks

The stakes could not be higher. Small Island Developing States in the Caribbean are among the most climate-vulnerable in the world. Rising seas, intensifying hurricanes, coastal erosion, saline intrusion and erratic rainfall are not future projections; they are lived realities.

Without secure land tenure, reliable land information systems and coherent policies on land use, communities — especially the poor and marginalised — face compounded risks. Informal settlements built without legal recognition are more exposed to natural hazards. Farmers cultivating land without formal tenure hesitate to invest in climate-smart practices. Governments attempting to rebuild after a hurricane are slowed when ownership is unclear and records are out of date.

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Persistent Weaknesses in Land Systems

These challenges are compounded by long-standing weaknesses in land governance. In many Caribbean states, large portions of land remain under informal or “family land” tenure, customary arrangements or occupation without registration. While socially embedded, such arrangements reduce the ability to invest, mortgage or legally protect holdings. At the same time, land registries and cadastral systems are often incomplete or outdated, with gaps that frustrate private investment and public planning alike.

Urban expansion and real estate development, when poorly regulated, encroach on agricultural land and fragile ecosystems, undermining food security and environmental sustainability. Weak enforcement of zoning and environmental regulations also leaves coastal zones and wetlands under pressure from unregulated development. This in turn heightens vulnerability to disasters while eroding natural defences such as mangroves and coral reefs.

Meanwhile, property and land taxes — potentially powerful tools for both fiscal sustainability and guiding land use — are too often under-leveraged.

Institutions, Laws and Equity Gaps

Institutional and legal shortcomings add another layer of constraint. Many land administration agencies face limited staffing, technical skills and financial resources. Legal frameworks, in some cases, have not kept pace with modern realities such as the recognition of family land, informal occupation or gender equity in land rights.

Coordination between planning, environment, housing and agriculture is often weak, leaving policies fragmented and sometimes contradictory. These weaknesses intersect with inequities in access: women, youth and marginalised communities remain disproportionately excluded from secure land rights, perpetuating cycles of vulnerability and poverty.

Why Reform Matters

Yet if the challenges are substantial, so too are the potential returns. Investments in effective land governance create cascading benefits across multiple domains of development. Secure tenure and well-functioning land use planning enable households to build more resilient homes, encourage farmers to adopt long-term soil management, and allow communities to avoid settlement in hazard-prone zones.

Clear records and modern land information systems allow governments to rebuild more quickly after disasters, direct investments to where they are most needed, and regulate development in ways that protect the environment.

The links to food security are equally clear. Caribbean governments face the urgent task of reducing food import dependence and building local agricultural productivity. This effort cannot succeed without secure land tenure for farmers and transparent land policies that protect agricultural land from being lost to unchecked urbanisation.

Similarly, the quest for affordable housing and sustainable urban growth requires that governments regularise informal settlements, expand access to secure plots and systematically plan infrastructure and service provision.

Building on Regional Efforts

Promising practices already exist across the region. The OECS has conducted detailed studies of land law, land use policy and land administration, identifying common challenges and recommending harmonised reforms and stronger institutions. CARICOM’s agricultural policy recognises the importance of secure tenure in raising productivity and advancing food security.

UN-Habitat and partners have worked with several Caribbean governments on strategies for informal settlement upgrading and regularisation, integrating communities into formal systems while improving services. These initiatives provide building blocks on which the region can expand.

Charting the Path Forward

Looking forward, the priorities are clear. Caribbean states need to update legal frameworks to recognise diverse tenure systems and protect vulnerable groups. They must digitise land registries, cadastres and valuation rolls, harnessing modern tools such as GIS, remote sensing and drones to generate reliable, accessible data.

Property taxation must be modernised and enforced fairly, ensuring valuation rolls are regularly updated and revenues collected efficiently. Institutional coordination must improve, linking planning, housing, agriculture, environment and disaster risk reduction into a coherent whole. And communities themselves must be brought into decision-making, so that land policies reflect lived realities and enjoy social legitimacy.

Above all, the region must recognise that land governance is not a niche technical issue, but a core pillar of resilience and sustainable development. From climate adaptation to fiscal stability, from agricultural productivity to affordable housing, the systems that govern land determine the success or failure of wider strategies. For Caribbean societies confronting intensifying pressures, effective land governance is no longer optional — it is imperative.