Current global developments in the land and human rights spheres show a progressive shift to focus on previously ‘unpopular’ subjects like corruption. The most recent milestone in this regard was the adoption of a General Comment on land and economic, social, and cultural rights (E/C.12/GC/26) by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (UN CESCR) in December 2022.

We are happy to announce the launch of the project Participatory Land-Use Consolidation for Climate Resilience and Inclusive Business Models in Egypt, which started in May 2024 and will run until October 2026. The project aims to reduce land fragmentation through participatory land use consolidation in order to increase the productivity and income of smallholder farmers, and to strengthen the institutional capacity of key institutions on land governance aspects.

This blog discusses how the increase in population presents a challenge for land tenure management in Namibia’s communal areas. 

As part of a scoping study titled Land Governance for Climate Resilience: A review and case studies from LAND-at-scale projects headed by Richard Sliuzas, Emeritus Professor, University of Twente, GLTN dove into the links between climate and land governance in the ‘’Scaling up community-based land registration and land use planning on customary land in Uganda’’ project. This case study highlights experiences from the community-based wetland management planning approach in Butaleja, Uganda, focusing on how the approach is addressing land governance issues and contributing to community climate resilience.

In the leadup to upcoming international climate talks, farmers in the coastal regions of Bangladesh are emphasizing the importance of robust and well-documented land rights in the face of the multiple climate change disasters that have adversely impacted their lives and livelihoods. Spearheaded by the Association for Land Reform (ALRD) in Bangladesh, and the Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC), with the support of the Land Portal Foundation and the Global Forum on Agricultural Research and Innovation (GFAR), a social media and information campaign has been underway to amplify their voices on the issue. This time around, we have taken collective action to ensure that climate policy discourse will not neglect the crucial role land rights play in building climate resilience of one of the most vulnerable populations. You can learn more, and contribute, by using hashtags #IfOnlyTheEarthCouldSpeak #landmatters #land4climate #COP28 and by following us on Twitter. 

Scaling is at the heart of both the name as well as the strategy of LAND-at-scale. Scaling and scaling potential are key in the way the program was designed and is reflected in the three pillars chosen to realize the aim of the program. The first pillar is about scaling successful initiatives and projects; the second pillar focuses on land governance innovations with scaling potential; and the third pillar covers knowledge management, with a focus on gaining a deeper understanding on the conditions required to make scaling successful.

Good Land Governance is a governance system that aims to protect the property rights of individuals and enterprises based on following good governance principles like accountability, transparency, the rule of law, effectiveness, efficiency, equality and public participation (Espinoza et al, 2016; Zakout et al., 2006). The line of criticism applied to notions of Good Land Administration or Good Land Governance is their vague and rather declarative character.

In the context of the joint IOS-Fair Transitions-LANDac International Conference, the parallel session on Justice at the heart of land governance: Envisioning the intersections of informal justice with land conflict, climate vulnerability, and food insecurity took place on June 30th, 2023.  

Building solutions for long-term sustainable livelihoods in urban contexts

Co-organized by FAO, UNCCD, TMG and the Land Portal, this side event specifically aimed to discuss how integrating the VGGT into land degradation neutrality (LDN) initiatives can re-ignite momentum to enhance tenure security and unlock multiple social, economic and environmental benefits.