Land Tenure Working Paper 19. The present paper is written as part of the overall Voluntary Guidelines consultation and development process and is a contribution to the subsequent preparation of the Gender Technical Guide. It contextualises and defines gender for the Voluntary Guidelines, discusses what governance of tenure means from a gender perspective and identifies and analyses key issues and themes. It then summarises recommendations relevant to gender before drawing some conclusions for the development process of the Voluntary Guidelines.

This guide has been developed in response to concerns regarding large-scale land acquisitions and the need to increase investment in agriculture. The guide supports application of the www.fao.org/3/a-i2801e.pdf"> Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure for Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security at the national level by providing technical guidance on how to safeguard tenure rights in the context of agricultural investments, including in land.

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.

he guidelines are the first comprehensive, global instrument on tenure and its administration to be prepared through intergovernmental negotiations.

The guidelines set out principles and internationally accepted standards of responsible practices for the use and control of land, fisheries and forests. They provide guidance for improving the policy, legal and organizational frameworks that regulate tenure rights; for

Land Tenure Working Paper 16 Governance of Land Tenure Eastern Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) looks at the land governance situation in the region. It has been prepared to provide a base for discussion for the regional consultation meetings on the FAO Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land and other Natural Resources. The objective of the study is to evaluate the current land governance situation in the region and to identify main achievements as well as remaining challenges.

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.

This Guide has been developed to assist in the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (the VGGT) with regard to fisheries in marine and inland waters. It explains the characteristics of the fisheries sector and provides technical guidance. Its purpose is to contribute to the achievement of the VGGT objectives in respect of the improvement of governance of tenure in fisheries.

83 regularly-updated country profiles that provide information on national policy and legal frameworks related to gender and land rights  Gender and land-related statistics from national agricultural censuses and household surveys available through maps, tables and graphs  A Legislation Assessment Tool for genderequitable land tenure (LAT) to support the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines of the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forestry in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT).  Online discussions on selected topics

Land Tenure Working Paper 9. Based on international authoritative documents, this paper draws 14 principles to be taken into account when developing Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land and other Natural Resources. The paper sees Voluntary Guidelines as human-rights based documents that provide a framework and a point of reference for national and international policies.

This study is intended to contribute to the effective implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines by exploring ways of monitoring the governance of tenure of land, fisheries and forests and providing a civil society perspective on monitoring in the context of the Guidelines. It provides an overview of existing and commonly used monitoring systems and practices in relation with tenure of land, fisheries and forests by civil society organisations and institutions. In order to do so, it will propose a schematic categorization of monitoring in the context of land, fisheries and forests.

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.