The Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (FAO, 2012 – referred to in this guide as ‘the Guidelines’) were unanimously adopted by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) in 2012, with subsequent broad international recognition and support. Their strength rests on the unique inclusive and participatory process through which they were developed.

Up to 2.5 billion people depend on indigenous and community lands, which make up over 50 percent of the land on the planet; they legally own just one-fifth. The remaining land remains unprotected and vulnerable to land grabs from more powerful entities like governments and corporations. There is growing evidence of the vital role played by full legal ownership of land by indigenous peoples and local communities in preserving cultural diversity and in combating poverty and hunger, political instability and climate change.

A large number of countries recognize the role of forests in carbon sequestration and committed in their NDCs to protect forests, reduce deforestation rates, and restore forestlands. Few NDCs, however, make any specific commitments to how their forests will be protected or restored on degraded land. It is still unclear if governments will protect forests by expanding the protected estate, improving the management of existing national parks, helping communities safeguard the forests on their lands, or by taking other measures.

Pedro Pachaguaya y Samuel Flores, antropólogo y líder originario, proponen un documento que pone en cuestión la forma en que el Estado Plurinacional gestiona la identidad cultural de la población.

The « Environment and Natural Resources Code of Cambodia » (Sixth Draft – – 20 November 2016) is a very extensive proposed law (535 pages !) which will have, if adopted, major impacts on many aspects of Cambodian development (Mines, Energy, Urban planning, etc..) but is particularly important for the management of Protected Areas and of Forests and Fisheries. The code has been elaborated by a panel of experts and several working groups led by Vishnu Law Group. A public national consultation has been organized by MOE in Dec 2016.

أضحت حيازة الأراضي سيئة التنظيم مشكلة أساسية، خاصة في أفريقيا جنوب الصحراء الكبرى وجنوب شرق آسيا، حيث تهدد الأمن الغذائي وسبل كسب العيش المحلية وإدارة الموارد الطبيعية بطريقة مستدامة، وأثارت نزاعات حول الأراضي والتعدي على حقوق الإنسان. والمجموعات الاجتماعية المهمشة مهددة بصفة خاصة، بما في ذلك السكان الأصليون، وغيرهم من أصحاب الأراضي العرفيين، والنساء، الطبقات الدنيا، والأقليات العرقية.

Since the 1970s and 1980s, community-based forestry has grown in popularity, based on the concept that local communities, when granted sufficient property rights over local forest commons, can organize autonomously and develop local institutions to regulate the use of natural resources and manage them sustainably. Over time, various forms of community-based forestry have evolved in different countries, but all have at their heart the notion of some level of participation by smallholders and community groups in planning and implementation.

Desde las décadas de 1970 y 1980, la forestería comunitaria ha ido adquiriendo cada vez más popularidad, a partir del concepto de que las comunidades locales, cuando se les conceden suficientes derechos de propiedad sobre los bosques colectivos locales, pueden organizarse de forma autónoma y crear instituciones locales a fin de reglamentar el uso de los recursos naturales y manejarlos de forma sostenible.

Государства-члены Продовольственной и сельскохозяйственной организации Объединенных Наций (ФАО) определили ключевыми целями Организации “повышение продуктивности сельского хозяйства, повышение качества питания, улучшение жизни сельского населения и содействие росту мировой экономики”. Как специализированное учреждение Организации Объединенных Наций (ООН), ФАО играет ключевую роль в усилиях по достижению продовольственной безопасности и сокращению масштабов нищеты.

Kenya is going through a period of intense transition. The country's main development policy, Vision 2030, is just entering the second Medium Term Plan of Implementation from 2013. The development priorities focus extensively on large scale investments, for industrial, irrigated agriculture, utilization of newly discovered natural resources, and infrastructure development. Land is therefore a central commodity for realization of the sought after socioeconomic transformation.

Section I provides an overview of large-scale land deals. It assesses the trend at a global level and examines structural obstacles faced by efforts to regulate such deals. Section II focuses on corruption as a major obstacle to improving the protection of local communities and indigenous peoples whose livelihood, identities, and traditional ways of life depend on the use of local lands and natural resources. This phenomenon is largely understudied because corruption, by its very nature, is hidden and therefore poorly documented.