Professors and graduate students at the National University of Timor Lorosa'e (UNTL) recently completed an important study on land dispute mediation with the help of international specialists at the Dili-based Land Law Program, managed by Associates in Rural Development (ARD). Detailed data and analysis of land disputes are needed to help Timor-Leste develop policies and laws to resolve complex land-tenure issues resulting from more than four centuries of colonial rule and foreign occupation..

The development of the study began with a series of training sessions by the Land Law Program on research methodology. The study focused on two types of data gathering: key persons and random sampling. Key persons were interviewed at sites across the country. The random sampling plan targeted two subdistricts, one with a high incidence of land conflicts and the second with a low incidence. The sampling designers chose the survey locations in each subdistrict through random generation of geographic positions. Researchers then found these positions using hand-held global positioning system (GPS) receivers.

With Land Law Program support, field staff from UNTL's National Research Center and the Ministry of Justice's Directorate of Land and Property conducted more than 140 detailed interviews and collected data in all 13 of the country's districts, 26 of its 65 subdistricts, and 52 of its more than 500 villages. They interviewed village heads, government officials, representatives of local civil society organizations, members of the clergy, and residents.

The Land Law Program team then compiled and analyzed the data to produce its report, "A Legal Framework on Land Dispute Mediation." The report has been presented to the government and a special roundtable discussion produced additional recommendations that the government can use to draft land dispute legislation.

The Land Law Program's work with UNTL is supported by USAID through its partnership with ARD. Among its activities, ARD is assisting in the establishment of the first land-tenure research center in Timor-Leste, an integral step in promoting sound land issue policies and legislation.