Resource information
In rural areas, land is the basis for agricultural production and the source for securing natural
resources through fishing, hunting, pasturing or other activities. Land is used by many people for
different purposes (e.g. for agricultural production, housing, industry, services and government).
Land also has social, cultural and political functions related to each country’s history.
Because land is used for so many purposes, land and property rights have broad impact on people’s
lives and livelihoods. These rights refer to the rules that specify who can do what with which resources
and assets, for how long and under what conditions. Collecting plants in a forest, cultivating a plot of
land, getting the produce harvested, accessing and extracting natural resources and deciding who
should or should not be allowed to collect plants or cultivate a plot of land are all expressions of the
exercise of property rights.
