The Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests (VGGTs), developed by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), are universal in nature and aim to protect the rights of smallholders, emphasising women’s rights and environmental issues. Through responsible tenure management, access to resources can be made safer and people’s legal property rights can be protected. More about the guidelines in the context of Eastern Europe can be found here.
In this article, we describe Serbia’s experience in implementing the VGGT principles.
Laying the ground for VGGT implementation
Serbia has over five million hectares of agricultural land, of which 71% is intensively used as arable land, orchards, and vineyards. The remaining 29% is made up of natural meadows and pastures. However, despite the country’s diverse and favourable natural resources for various types of agricultural production, it has been neglecting agriculture and natural resources for many years, manifesting in deteriorating infrastructure, insufficient care of waterways and forests, and the development of extractive projects. To reverse these negative outcomes, halt further degradation, and harness Serbia’s abundance of rich resources, responsible approaches to the use of resources and the search for long-term and sustainable solutions is therefore urgent.
It is within this context that Serbia was first introduced to the guidelines in 2015 as part of a World Bank project (2015-2020) focusing on real estate valuation and taxation. The development of e-governance to provide access to real estate information and the development of the Republican Geodetic Survey were an important aspect of the project, whereby stakeholders were provided with information on the main parts of the VGGTs and how they can be applied to fairly resolve land use issues.
The International Union of Notaries has also joined in promoting the implementation of the guidelines in Serbia. Realising their potential in resolving land issues, the Union held a series of information seminars, one of which was held in Belgrade.
Serbian legislation and imposed penalties
The VGGT principles emphasise that any actions, for example, in the field of land relations, should not harm the environment. While the rules related to these principles are regulated by legislation in many countries, a distinctive feature of Serbian law is the clear definition of the amounts of fines for certain violations. For example, the Law on Environmental Protection was amended to increase penalties (to hundreds of thousands and even millions of dinars) for environmental damage for legal entities and individuals, as well as officials responsible for issuing unlawful permits for the use of natural resources.
Likewise, the Law on Soil Protection, which defines responsible entities, actions, and measures aimed at preserving soil as a natural resource and preventing or eliminating soil pollution by harmful substances, imposes. The provisions of the Law are fully in line with the Guidelines, and substantial penalties for non-compliance. The amounts for these penalties are also clearly defined and are issued if a business or individual entity fails to take measures to prevent pollutants or harmful and hazardous substances from entering the soil; fails to account for the costs of protecting land from pollution and degradation; fails to control the impact of its activities on soil quality; fails to reclaim land; or fails to monitor soil quality and fertility or does not allow inspectors to monitor it.
It is important to note, however, that in practice, the imposition of fines is limited, with large companies that violate environmental standards often only receiving small fines or avoiding punishment altogether.
Serbian legislation and protection of vulnerable groups
The VGGTs pay considerable attention to the protection of women’s rights and gender equality. For Serbia, gender equity issues are extremely important, as there is a significant gender gap in the economy, including in terms of access to land, ownership of resources, and decision-making. Efforts are underway to address these challenges, however, such as the Recommendations for Strengthening Gender Equality are being implemented in the area of land rights registration, including:
- Creation of mobile centres to improve access to real estate registration services for women, the poor and vulnerable groups;
- Reduction of real estate registration fees (introduction of a symbolic tax of EUR 3) to encourage increased women’s ownership and control over land when family members are registered as co-owners of real estate, as well as for the registration of real estate of persons with disabilities;
- Simplifying the procedure of joint registration of property for spouses, which facilitates the management of inheritance and transfer of ownership.
Nevertheless, local organisations believe that these measures are not enough. They emphasise the importance of continuous monitoring and evaluation of the measures implemented, as well as the need to involve women in decision-making at all levels.
VGGT principles in local development documents
The Serbian local development documents were formed under the auspices of FAO to incorporate the norms of the VGGTs. In particular, the documents aim to increase the incomes of small producers (especially women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists, and fishermen) through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources, knowledge, financial services, and off-farm employment opportunities. In addition, they note the intention “to ensure sustainable food production systems and apply flexible farming methods by the end of 2030 to increase productivity and production that help maintain ecosystems that strengthen the ability to adapt to climate change, extreme weather, droughts, floods, and other natural disasters, that is, that gradually improve soil quality.” On the other hand, however, the document does not specify any specific measures to achieve these goals.
Although some steps have already been taken in implementing the VGGTs into Serbian national law, there are still many unresolved issues. These include, for example, the lack of safeguards to prevent land consolidation and transparency in bilateral agreements. In fact, regulatory solutions currently in actually encourage additional purchase/lease and land consolidation by owners of larger agricultural plots. This may have a negative impact on the economic situation and ultimately the survival of smaller producers, as well as contributing to the concentration of large areas of agricultural land.
Moreover, the Serbian legal system does not pay sufficient attention to the inheritance of agricultural land. The privileged position in inheritance is granted only to a person who lived or did business with the testator. However, if several heirs who lived or did business with the testator submit a request for allocation of agricultural land, the current legislation does not provide for the resolution of such disputes.
Finally, with regard protection and improvement of natural resources, particular constraints include lack of policy coherence, unregulated property relations in legislation, lack of information databases, lack of experience and leadership of civil society in agricultural land issues, and insufficient delineation of competencies between individual agencies and organisations.
Improving implementation and enforcement of the VGGTs
Even though Serbia already has a legal framework that takes into account the requirements of the VGGTs, the effectiveness of the laws and the frequency of their practical application remains a challenge and requires further efforts. The guidelines should serve as a blueprint for harmonising the legal relations system in the field of land tenure and land use. In this way, their implementation in national legislation can contribute to the development of a sustainable and equitable agri-food system, especially for the population of Serbia.