n 2014, the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) endorsed the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines).

This briefing consists of six insights drawn from the feedback of qualitative interviews with 37 companies aiming to invest responsibly in land, drawing on key principles from the CFS-RAI Principle 5 and the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure (VGGT).

Sierra Leone’s new National Land Policy, recently approved by the cabinet, presents a progressive and ambitious plan for protecting land rights that will strengthen women’s access to land, give communities a bigger say over land management and create a better framework for major land investments. All of which is urgently in need if Sierra Leone’s future development is to benefit the entire nation.

This is a brief description of a course organized by the Regional Government of San Martín in Peru and ProTierras Comunales and implemented in coordination with the regional and local indigenous organisations in 2018.  ProTierras Comunales is part of the Global Project “Responsible Land Policy”, implemented since late 2015 by German development cooperation in six countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America to promote the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests (VGGT, 2012). 

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.

Most countries in Western Europe have a long tradition for implementing land consolidation projects. In Central and Eastern Europe, land reforms from 1990 on in most countries resulted in farm structures characterized by excessive land fragmentation and small average farm sizes. Most CEE countries have introduced land consolidation instruments to address the structural problems. FAO has from 2000 on supported land consolidation in the region.

Land consolidation is a highly effective land management instrument that allows for the improvement of the structure of agricultural holdings and farms in a country, which increases their economic and social efficiency and brings benefits both to right holders as well as to society in general. Since land consolidation gives mobility to land ownership and other land rights, it may also facilitate the allocation of new areas with specific purposes other than agriculture, such as for public infrastructure or nature protection and restoration.

This presentation was given at the Webinar "Land Consolidation Legislation: FAO Legal Guide and Its Application at the Country Level" on 18 June 2020. It sets the scene on the need for land consolidation by explaining the problem it addresses, namely, land fragmentation. The presentation also explores whether land markets can solve the issue of land fragmentation, and can be achieved with land consolidation and who are the beneficiaries.

This presentation was given at the Webinar "Land Consolidation Legislation: FAO Legal Guide and Its Application at the Country Level" on 18 June 2020. It explores the content of the new FAO Legal Guide on Land Consolidation, as well as the context that led to the development of this guide.

Land consolidation is a well-proven land management instrument, which has traditionally been used for agricultural development with a main objective of reducing land fragmentation and increasing holding and farm sizes. Some European countries have a land consolidation tradition that goes back a hundred years or more. It is also widespread in particular in countries in Asia but also in Africa.

At the request of the Sri Lankan Government an assessment was designed and conducted as part of the development of the country’s national strategy on REDD+.  The assessment involved applying criteria from the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries, and Forests (VGGT) to analyze the tenure implications for a wide array of proposed policies and measures (PAMs) to address deforestation and forest degradation.  The assessment will help Sri Lanka to prioritize and make investment decisions among the PAMs.

The primary goal of the "Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests within the Scope of National Food Security" is to achieve food security for all and to support the progressive realization of the right to adequate food within the scope of national food security.