LAND-at-scale (LAS) is a land governance support program for developing countries from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, which was launched in 2019. The objective of the program is to directly strengthen essential land governance components for men, women and youth that have…

Questions about how land is governed and controlled in the context of multiple crises are key to debates about fair transitions. The energy transition, net-zero ambitions, nature protection, and food system transformation all involve claims on land, water, and forests. How these claims are…

Struggles to control valuable land, natural and mineral resources are at the heart of many conflicts around the world. Many have their roots in colonial conquest and post-colonial resource grabbing by colluding local and global elites. Land conflicts frequently entail clashes of values and…

“Nature-based” solutions to climate change require the acquisition of large swaths of land for reforestation, afforestation, conservation and renewable energy sources. However, corruption in the land sector is already widespread and this additional demand for land may aggravate pre-existing…

The IISD Model Clauses aim to support agricultural investment negotiators, state lawyers, and policy-makers in helping achieve their country’s sustainable development objectives for investment in agriculture and food systems. The IISD Model Clauses are primarily designed to inform the drafting…

This case study describes the work of the Pawanka Fund. 

This case study describes the work of the Pawanka Fund. 

This policy paper provides a critical examination of international commitments on women's land rights, evaluating progress and persistent challenges. It scrutinizes commitments made through the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Generation Equality Forum (GEF) Action Coalitions,…

 This policy paper reveals the urgent need for transformative change to  secure equitable land rights for women and marginalized communities.  By presenting recommendations for a broad spectrum of stakeholders  and analysing macroeconomic factors through a feminist lens, we aim  to stimulate…

This report presents the first global analysis of funding pathways in support of Indigenous Peoples’ and Local Communities’ (IPs' & LCs') tenure and forest guardianship, a project spurred by the IP & LC Forest Tenure Pledge made by 22 donors in 2021. This study,…

This research paper addresses the need for an adaptable theoretical framework in the context of sustainable land governance for Water–Energy–Food (WEF) systems, bridging the gap between international guidelines and contextual realities. The novel framework is useful to effectively tackle the…

Given the short time-frame to limit global warming, and the current emissions gap, it is critical to prioritise mitigation actions. To date, scant attention has been paid to the mitigation benefits of primary forest protection. We estimated tropical forest ecosystem carbon stocks and flows. The…