The Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security is the first global exhaustive tool on the tenure of land and natural resources developed through an open inter-governmental process with the full and effective participation of a vast array of relevant actors. In such document, internationally accepted principles and norms were established to define responsible practices for the use and control of land, fisheries and forests.

The Sustainable Development Goal 15 “Life on land” commits world leaders to work together to achieve land degradation neutrality (LDN) for safeguarding life on land. One of the objectives that comprise LDN is to reinforce responsible governance of land tenure. Land rights are a key factor for achieving LDN. This publication by the UNCCD CSO Panel aims to analyze and highlight the linkages between land rights and land degradation with the objective of offering policy recommendations to enhance land rights for both the prevention of land degradation and the recovery of degraded lands.

The challenges associated with determining fair compensation for expropriated land have been extensively discussed and debated among scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and the public. However, to date, a comprehensive study of national-level compensation procedures established by law considering whether such procedures meet internationally recognized standards on compensation valuation has not been conducted.

Up to 2.5 billion people hold and use the world’s community lands, yet the tenure rights of women—who comprise more than half the population of the world’s Indigenous Peoples and local communities—are seldom acknowledged or protected by national laws.

From 9 to 11 November 2016 the ‘symposium on land consolidation and land readjustment for sustainable development’ was held in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands. The symposium was a joint initiative from FIG commissions 7 and 8, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), LANDNET, the Dutch Cadastre, Land Registry and Mapping Agency, and supported by Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) and the World Bank. About 200 participants from 50 countries shared their experiences and knowledge about state of the art practices of land consolidation and land readjustment across the world.

This video highlights the events of the training of trainers on "Increasing the use of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forest (VGGT) among CSOs and Grassroots Organizations in the Philippines" held on 11-14 July 2016 in Tagaytay City, Philippines.

This video highlights the events of the training of trainers on "Increasing the use of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forest (VGGT) among CSOs and Grassroots Organizations in the Philippines" held on 11-14 July 2016 in Tagaytay City, Philippines.

This article reflects on the Tenure Guidelines as a tool for addressing resource governance challenges. It outlines the process through which the Tenure Guidelines were developed and reviews key features of their content, and then focuses on two issues: the legal significance of the VGGT, and the nature of initiatives to advance their implementation.

This document provides information on implementation of VGGT and a number of checklists that might be helpful for investors and companies on the following topics: Tenure Rights Risk Management Checklist (II.B), Consultation and Negotiation Checklist (III.B), Grievances and Dispute Resolution Checklist (IV.B) and Transparency and Corruption Checklist (V.B).

This paper examines whether national expropriation and land laws in 30 countries across Asia and Africa put Indigenous Peoples and local communities at risk of expropriation without compensation. In particular, this paper examines whether national laws ensure that communities are eligible for compensation and whether eligibility requirements effectively close the door on communities seeking compensation.

This is the first issue of the Journal of Law and Rural Development, published by IFAD. IFAD’s mandate to address rural poverty and promote rural development is unique among international organizations. For many years IFAD limited its activities to financing projects and programmes implemented by its Member States, but over the last decade it has begun to transform itself into a knowledge centre and a key participant in the international policy dialogue around rural development issues. The launch of this journal is another step forward in this transformation.

The voluntary guidelines do not create an absolute obligation. They are a basic tool that can be used to bring about changes in governance policies and practices associated with the tenure regimes applicable to land, fisheries and forests. The recommendations they contain are highly legitimate insofar as they were signed in late 2012 by the member states of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) following a drafting process that placed significant emphasis on the views of civil society around the world.