Elaboración de documento base para evaluación de marco legal institucional de tenencia segura en Argentina

MARIA CRISTINA CRAVINO

2007-06-01

2007-10-30

elaboracion de documento base

Ordenamiento territorial

GLOBAL URBAN OBSERVATORY TERMS OF REFERENCE Job Title:                      Researcher (consultant) Project Title:                 Qualitative Study on the Legal and Institutional Framework governing security of tenure in Argentina in general and Buenos Aires Province in particular (focus in La Matanza) Project Budget:             GLTN Consultancy fees:          USD 3,000 (three thousand USA dollars) Duration of the consultancy: six weeks (full time for two weeks; part time for four weeks) Background The Global Urban Observatory (GUO) addresses the urgent need to improve the world-wide base of urban knowledge by helping Governments, local authorities and organizations of the civil society develop and apply policy-oriented urban indicators, statistics and other urban information. The GUO was established by UN-HABITAT in response to a decision of the United Nations Commission on Human Settlements, which called for a mechanism to monitor global progress in implementing the Habitat Agenda and to monitor and evaluate global urban conditions and trends. The GUO works closely with Best Practices and Local Leadership Programme (BLP), which was established to make use of information and networking in support of the Habitat Agenda Implementation. Both programmes operate under the Monitoring Systems Branch, which has the overall mandate to monitor progress on the Habitat Agenda and the Millennium Development Goals. Recently, a Peer review was conducted to assess UN-Habitat’s Approach to Monitoring Target 11, namely to provide a scientific evaluation of the slum definition, method and estimates. The Peer Review welcomed the efforts of UN-HABITAT to develop a Strategy to Monitor Secure Tenure, and recommended to explore further the possibilities of enhancing an expert system approach. Following the Peers recommendation, GUO has started a pilot phase to further validate the methodology to “Assess the legal and institutional environment governing security of tenure (LIFI)”, through expert opinion.      UN-HABITAT monitoring strategy combines three different estimation procedures: A.        Measuring security of tenure at the household and individual level. Currently, UN-HABITAT suggests collecting data through household surveys by using two component indicators: proof of documentation and perception of security. These indicators provide a generic measurement of the individual/household dimension of tenure security. UN-HABITAT has developed its own urban inequities survey, but due to financial constraints it is also establishing working relationships with institutions that conduct their household surveys such as UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey and USAID’s Demographic and Health Survey in different parts of the world on a regular basis, in order to add-on questions on security of tenure in their mainstream survey instruments.  B.        Assessing the legal and institutional environment governing security of tenure. In order to complement the information at the household level, UN-HABITAT has developed a matrix that assesses the legal and institutional environment governing security of tenure (LIFI). This matrix provides a diagnostic of the policy environment that helps to determine the factual status of tenure security in a specific context. C.        Combining the policy environment with household variables, particularly with individual/household perception on secure tenure. LIFI measures the government’s progressive realization of tenure rights for land and housing. However, individuals and households may have different perceptions about this process. In order to address this, UN-HABITAT suggests combining the information obtained by both methods. This way the incremental process of tenure upgrading that can lead, at a later stage, to formal tenure regularization and the provision of real rights is also taken into consideration. Objective The objective of this consultancy is to provide background information on the tenure situation in Argentina for the Expert Group meeting that will estimate the Secure Tenure Index in the country (focusing in La Matanza, Province of Buenos Aires) using the methodology to assess the legal and institutional framework governing security of tenure (LIFI). The background paper will provide in depth information that will assist in understanding the tenure situation in Argentina. The findings can be used as part of the scientific evidence for the State of the World Cities Report 2008/9. Activities and Outputs The consultant will work under the supervision of the Chief, Global Urban Observatory (GUO), and UN-HABITAT Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (ROLAC), and in close collaboration with the Under-Secretariat for Land for Social Habitat (SSTHS), Government of Argentina. The consultant will be responsible for the following activities and related outputs: 1.                   Review and internalize the LIFI methodology and lessons learned from the Sao Paolo expert group meeting 2.                   Produce a background paper for the Expert Group meeting in Argentina. This should include some background information of the situation of tenure security in Argentina, including identifying and describing the groups that are especially vulnerable to lack of tenure security, the types of irregular settlements and a graphic indicating the proportion of each type of settlement, and a description of the variety of legal and socially accepted traditions in land and housing tenure and provide some analysis of the different tenure systems that might coexist in the case of Argentina. The Paper should include information of the legal system, the National Development Plan and on the government’s responses assessed in LIFI at national level (Argentina) and city level (La Matanza), if applicable, related to: 1) Evictions; ·         Multi-stakeholder (including free media) involvement at the community level in eviction decisions ·         Process prior to eviction: Consultation / Justification / Notification / Recording / Compensation-Relocation ·         Legal aid support to potential evictees (from the government, from NGOs, from  voluntary professionals, etc; is it sufficient? Is it effective?) 2) Remedies; ·         Legislative and Policy Enforcement -          Constitution and land laws protect occupants and their possession rights -          Existing land laws and land-use practices that are pro-poor oriented -          Gap between the practice (de-facto) and legal (de-jure) systems ·         Equality of Access to tenure -          Summary description of laws of property inheritance and property registration (non-discriminatory). -          Co-tenure registration of multiple household members. -          Households have inheritance and development rights -          Regulations governing renters’ tenure security 3) Land administration practices, ·         Functioning of Land Management and Land Administration Institutions -          Describe the basic land registration / recording systems (for example, are there initiatives to modernize the registry and cadastre? ) -          Describe the institutional capacity, capability and stability -          Affordability and Transparency -          Land disputes and; 4) Land market interventions for “transferability rights”. ·         Tenure security accepted for mortgages and financial mechanisms are efficient and well established -          Transaction costs of enforcing collaterals are low due to the efficiency of the land administration, advantaging the urban poor -          Registration or recordal offices are decentralized allowing transactions within reasonable distance for all ·         Situation of land and housing rental markets as a functional part of transferability rights 3.                   Prepare a checklist of policies and legislation of Argentina related to security of tenure through a desk review 4.                   Prepare a one page document indicating institutional responsibilities related to secure tenure in the case of La Matanza and Argentina, as part of a 12-15 page report (in Spanish) on all issues mentioned above, to be distributed to participants on 21 June 5.                   Prepare a Final Report (in English) stating: (i) an executive summary of the initial report; (b) the summary of all discussions, recommendations and scoring during the two-day Expert Group Meeting 6.                   Perform other duties as required to fulfill the objectives of the assignment D. Qualifications Advanced university degree in Urban and Regional Planning, political science, public administration and/or disciplines of relevance to human settlements (e.g., sociology, urban planning, urban economy, etc). Previous work experience in development related field is essential. Good research, analytical and problem-solving skills; familiarity with and experience in the use of various research methodologies and sources, including electronic sources on the internet, intranet and other databases. Good writing skills and attention to detail is vital. Ability to work in an independent manner and willingness to take initiative is a must. Ability to work both in Spanish and English is a must. The final selection of the consultant shall be agreed between SSTHS (Government of Argentina) and ROLAC. E. Terms and Conditions The supervisors will evaluate and monitor the consultant’s work. He/She will submit an interim report of progress prior to the Expert Group Meeting. Payment will be made in two equal installments; first half will be paid upon acceptance of the consultancy and the final payment upon acceptance of the final report. Language of the consultancy: English and Spanish. The final report will be produced in English. Either party may terminate this consultancy for cause, upon a two weeks notice, in writing, to the other party.