Twenty years ago, I learned a valuable lesson about the power of land and inheritance rights to affirm the status and contributions of women. My father-in-law, then 80 years old, was dividing his land to his children. In doing so, he made a decision that was unusual for a man in Kenya– he gave a piece of land to me, his daughter-in-law. He had come to believe that it was only just to affirm the role that women play in contributing to the household and caring for aging parents.

In the midst of last week's High Level Political Forum (HLPF), we took a few moments out and a few steps away from the conference rooms, to speak with women's land rights defender Ms. Joan Carling.  Having recently fallen victim to unfounded terrorist accusations, along with several of her colleague from the Philippines, her message is loud and clear.  Women such as herself, most particularly indigenous women, will continue to ensure that they are heard.  

Few people dispute the transformational impact of the “green revolution” in agriculture that eradicated famine in countries from Mexico to India just over 50 years ago. But as gains in agricultural production have again begun to slow, there are calls for a second green revolution to meet the growing food security needs of the planet.

Land is the maker and the marker of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  For the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), our aim is to contribute squarely to relevant land-related results where solutions exist and actions are needed, which is at subnational or national levels in countries. We work with national and local governments as well as with other locally mandated actors that in most cases get assistance from international organisations .

The National Slum Dwellers Federation of Uganda (NSDFU) is a network of approximately 350 community groups with a membership of approximately 38,000 people. NSDFU is a member of the Shack/Slum Dwellers International (SDI) network, a transnational network of the urban poor founded in 1996, and which brings together over a million federated slum dwellers in 30 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

After years of efforts, land rights are finally getting global attention. With several land-related indicators included in the Sustainable Development Goals, the land sector now has the unique opportunity to create an unprecedented momentum around land tenure issues and bring it to a higher level on the development agenda. Our goal is, of course, to contribute to the success of the SDGs, but also to be part of sustainable development in its real and practical sense!

Tajikistan is on the cusp of achieving its vision of a fully-functional market that allows land-use rights to be bought and sold. The transition from a post-Soviet system of regulation and control to market-based principles represents the culmination of over a decade of donor-supported commitment and effort to unlock significant economic growth potential in Tajikistan and support the country’s transition away from donor assistance.

Por Juliana Martínez Nacarato Investigadora del Programa de Justicia Fiscal en Fundar

By Tim Hanstad, Co-Founder & Senior Advisor, Landesa

This is the second blog in a series of two that are based on a keynote address made at the 2018 India Land Development Conference.

In March, the Trump Administration released a new budget proposal that would cut funding to the Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development by 28 percent. The proposal also reduces funding to the United Nations for ongoing climate change efforts.

Women play important roles in all smallholder farming systems. Advocates for women farmers often claim that “women produce 60-80% of the world’s food.” Occasionally, we are told that this statistic refers to food produced in developing countries, or food crops in sub-Saharan Africa; the reference point is vague. But the idea is clear – women produce more food than men.

A civil society perspective on engaging with the private sector

Towards SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals