In this issue, we will be looking at work underway on the Voluntary Guidelines on responsible governance of tenure of land and other natural resources. We will also look at work done in Thailand and lessons learned by the German-financed Bioenergy and Food Security project.

This document reports on the regional consultation for Southern America (including Mexico), held in Brasilia on 20 and 21 of May 2010 with the support of the Government of Brazil and preceded by a civil society meeting composed of organizations integrating the International NGO/CSO Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty (IPC), whose recommendations have been annexed at this document.

La FAO junto con varios asociados está desarrollando las Directrices voluntarias sobre la gobernanza responsable de la tenencia de la tierra y de otros recursos naturales. Las directrices voluntarias intentan proporcionar a los Estados, a la sociedad civil y al sector privado la orientación práctica sobre la gobernanza responsable de la tenencia como medios para aliviar el hambre y la pobreza, mejorar el medio ambiente, apoyar el desarrollo económico nacional y local, y reformar la administración pública.

The Eastern and Anglophone Western Africa Regional Assessment meeting was organized by a task force consisting of FAO, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, African Land Policy Initiative, the United Nations World Food Programme, United Nations Development Programme, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme officials in Ethiopia.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and several development partners are working together with countries to prepare Voluntary Guidelines that will provide practical guidance to states, civil society, the private sector, academic and research institutions, donors and development specialists on the responsible governance of tenure.

Concentration of land ownership, lack of access, insecurity of tenure and lack of efficiency and transparency in land administration services, are among the obstacles towards responsible governance of tenure of land and other natural resources in Latin America. These issues have been the subject of discussions and policy recommendations during many international forums, such as the International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ICARRD) held in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in March 2006.

Land administration and cadastral systems are playing a crucial global role in safeguarding the security of access to land and natural resources. Information technology systems have become basic elements of these systems everywhere. Introduction of automation to land administration has improved systems’ efficiency, standardisation and accessibility, which in turn have contributed to responsible land governance. Developing country land administrations are, however, often inefficient and poorly structured.