Neil Sorensen joined the Land Portal as its Communications Specialist in October 2015. He has extensive experience leading communications for international organizations and developing relationships with civil society, donors, intergovernmental agencies, the media and the private sector. Previously, Neil worked for the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) as a Governing Bodies Officer and Strategic Adviser to the Secretary of IFAD. He has also led communications for three international organizations, including the International Land Coalition, the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). He holds a Master’s degree in Global Diplomacy from the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) as well as a Bachelor’s degree with a double major in German and Sociology from St. Cloud State University.
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Call for proposals: Supporting uses of GDB data to advance the knowledge on data for public good
Pathways for the recognition of customary forest tenure in the Mekong region
Globally, about 2 billion people claim ownership of their homes and lands through a customary tenure system. Customary tenure has long been insecure and is under growing pressure in many places. But it is also increasingly recognized through a variety of mechanisms, formal and informal. RECOFTC released a new report on the recognition of customary tenure of communities living in forested landscapes in Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar and Viet Nam. It also includes a case study from Thailand.
Gender, tenure and customary practices in forest landscapes
This report is based on 10 research projects carried out in 18 sites in seven countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Viet Nam. The studies formed the basis of ten informational briefs from the research sites published together with the report (available here: https://www.recoftc.org/publications/0000432). Each study documented the legal frameworks and customary practices that affect indigenous women’s rights to access and manage forest resources and create restrictions on those rights.
Webinar Recap: Land Tenure Security Revisited
On 15 December 2022 the LAND-at-scale Knowledge Management team hosted a webinar Land tenure security revisited: Do we know what we need to know? that presented the preliminary findings of a study on tenure security authored by Guus van Westen, and Jaap Zevenbergen. The presentation of the study was followed by breakout sessions on tenure security and its relationship to women's land rights, the role of the state, land conflicts, and economic development facilitated by land experts and panelists who reported back to the plenary on the discussions with their respective reflections on the findings of the study.
Land tenure security revisited: Do we know what we need to know?
Strengthening security of tenure is considered a key outcome of the LAND-at-scale program as a pre-condition to improved livelihoods, resilience, and sustainable resource use. LAND-at-scale interventions employ a range of tools to achieve tenure security, in particular land mapping and registration. Despite the popularity of such interventions, the assumptions underpinning the impact pathways from registration to tenure security and derived outcomes such as improved livelihoods are not always built on a solid evidence base.
To protect women and uproot patriarchy means confronting the links between land and gender-based violence
Multiple studies indicate that secure rights to land and other property can protect women from experiencing domestic violence by strengthening their position within their families or by providing women with a stronger ability to exit abusive relationships.
Doing Business on Uneven Ground: Advancing land equality is key to addressing climate change and farmer rights
Land is the bridge between companies’ environmental and social sustainability agendas, and it is foundational to both. To implement their commitments on climate change, net zero emissions, human rights, women’s empowerment, and farmer livelihoods, companies must focus on land in agricultural value chains: who controls it, who can access it, who has rights to it, and who enjoys the benefits derived from it (‘land inequality’).
FIG Working Week 2023
When our global community unites, the energy is unstoppable. That’s why FIG and the local organisers, NSPS, are thrilled to invite you for the FIG Working Week 2023. Look forward to an exciting week-long conference that brings the international community of surveying and spatial professionals together to experience a mix of interesting technical sessions and workshops, a trade exhibition and a variety of side events and social functions.
ILDC 2022: Global Pulls on Local Lands: Southern Perspectives
The theme of the sixth edition of ILDC in 2022 is “Global Pulls on Local Lands : Southern Perspectives”. The objective is to further and expand the scope of South-South Exchange around land conversations and cooperations, that began during the last episode, while the focus of the deliberations will continue to be on India.
Event Recap: Unlocking the potential of the Voluntary Guidelines on Land Tenure in food system transformation
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.