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.

Access to land is essential to food production and income generation. It is also a key social and economic asset, crucial for cultural identity, political power and participation in decisionmaking. Social and cultural beliefs often discriminate against people because of gender, social class or ethnic group.

Land Tenure Working Paper 17. This publication identifies and assesses issues related to land governance and provides examples of good governance in the Caribbean subregion. This working paper was done in light of FAO’s Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land and other Natural Resources.

Document de travail sur les régimes fonciers 6. Ce document établit un état des lieux de la gouvernance foncière et des ressources naturelles en Afrique de l’ouest en confrontant les politiques, les législations et les pratiques des Etats avec des principaux standards et critères de bonne gouvernance. L’étude identifie les enjeux auxquels les Etats doivent faire face ; elle reconnaît également les bonnes pratiques et les initiatives entreprises en matière de la gouvernance de la tenure des terres et des ressources naturelles.

The Pinheiro Principles provide restitution practitioners, as well as States and UN and others agencies, with a consolidated text relating to the legal, policy, procedural, institutional and technical implementation mechanisms for housing and property restitution. As such, the Principles provide specific policy guidance regarding how to ensure the right to housing and property restitution in practice and for the implementation of restitution laws, programmes and policies, based on existing international human rights, humanitarian, refugee and national standards.

Women and childrens' insecure rights to property and inheritance in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa is not a new issue. The extended family support systems that used to function as social safety nets for widows and orphaned children have weakened as a consequence of societal changes such as economic development, migration and urbanization. This situation has clearly been exacerbated by the AIDS epidemic. Though prevalence is starting to level off, or even decline, in several high prevalence countries, this comes after years of increasing prevalence.

Document de travail sur les régimes fonciers 17. Cet article identifie et analyse des questions relatives à la gouvernance des terres et apporte des exemples de bonne gouvernance de la sous-région des Caraïbes. Cette étude a été conduite en vue de l’initiative de la FAO sur les Directives Volontaires sur la gouvernance responsable de la tenure des terres et des autres ressources naturelles. Disponible en anglais

The focus of this report is on NRM activities broadly defined as those that promote sustainable agricultural production through improvements in on-farm soil and water management, such as social forestry, micro-watershed management, irrigation water management, and soil conservation.

Five years after the World Food Summit, and at the beginning of the twenty-first century, The State of Food and Agriculture reflects on some of the main challenges faced in eliminating world hunger and poverty. The task may be daunting, but so are the numbers of hungry and undernourished people whose fate is dependent on decisive and accelerated action. I am convinced that, with a renewed commitment and determined, concerted effort, the goal of the World Food Summit can be met.

FAO and its development partners are working together with countries to prepare Voluntary Guidelines that will provide practical guidance to states, the private sector, civil society, academia, donors and development specialists on the responsible governance of tenure. By setting out principles and internationally accepted standards for responsible practice and associated technical guidance, the Voluntary Guidelines will provide a framework and point of reference that stakeholders can use when developing their own policies and actions.