This webinar took stock of the emerging insights on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on land rights and discussed concerns about the expected mid-to-long term impacts on equitable and sustainable land governance.

The discussion built upon previous efforts of the broader land governance community, including the Quick-scan Survey on the COVID-19 crisis by LANDac and the LANDdialogue, insights from the LANDac Professional Learning Programme and the webinar and discussion series ‘Land Rights Implications of COVID-19’ by the Land Portal Foundation and its partners.

Effective protection of biodiversity in areas of high conservation value requires trade-offs between local use of natural resources and conservation restrictions. The compromise is often difficult to reach, which causes conflicts over the management priorities of existing and potential protected areas. Ecosystem services (ES) perspective offers a promising avenue for diagnosing and reconciling contrasting interests concerning the use of benefits from ecosystems.

Issues surrounding customary land governance reforms remain at the forefront of policy reforms in many African countries because of concern over discriminatory rules of access, exchange, and inheritance, corruption, elite capture, and illegal land occupations, (Arko Adjei, 2009). The shortcomings in customary land governance extend to the unfettered authority of customary land trustees, usually, traditional leaders (chiefs and family heads) who retain autonomous control over land as defined by customary norms and practices.

Gender gap in ownership of agricultural land is still wide in many developing countries, mainly in favour of men. In some of these countries, both patrilineal and matrilineal systems are practised and recognized by governments. Tanzania is one of the countries in which both systems are practised. This paper explores the extent of gender equality in ownership of agricultural land in Kisarawe and Mkuranga districts which are typical rural agricultural settings and mainly matrilineal societies in Tanzania. It also attempts to examine women’s benefits from agricultural activities.

El presente informe fue construido de manera conjunta por las Iniciativas “ODS y Tierra”, “ENI Argentina” y “Land Matrix”. Su objetivo es realizar contribuciones al Estado y a la sociedad en general, para mejorar la implementación de los ODS y sus Metas relacionadas a la Tierra en la República Argentina. Para tal fin, se utilizaron datos extraídos del documento “Trayectoria de las Metas de Tierra de los ODS en Argentina”, estudio encargado por la ENI Argentina a la consultora Dra.

It is likely that rural women will disproportionately bear the socio-economic hardships from COVID-19. Restrictions on the movement of people and goods are disrupting agricultural value chains and food systems. Women have weaker land tenure security and less access to productive resources than men. As markets close and cross-border trade declines;women suffer from not being able to sell their produce;and from lacking access to inputs needed for the next planting season. Lockdowns result in increased domestic and care work for women.

Land in Cameroon is under growing pressure – powerful commercial interests;changing climate conditions and shifting demographic flows including mass migration and increasing population density. The rights of rural communities and indigenous people to access and use land for farming and grazing have been eroded,  primarily due to failure to recognise customary land tenure rights;land use conflicts and lack of effective local governance. The country’s land legislation is outdated and not compatible with customary law and local realities.

A nine-minute video. Most rural people in Uganda have rights to their rural land through customary tenure arrangements;representing 75-80% of land holdings: but only 15-20% of the land is formally registered. Often women;especially widows;experience land grabbing;arbitrary eviction and poor access to justice. GLTN and others are working to help vulnerable smallholder farmers in South Western and Elgon regions through the implementation of a ‘Securing Land Tenure for Improved Food Security in select areas in Ugandaproject. The video illustrates some of this work.

Land tenure security, especially customary residence systems, is found to influence the agricultural investment decision-making and productivity of smallholder farmers across sub-Saharan Africa. However, as country-specific customary residence systems and farming models evolve over time, their impact on food security and livelihood remains unclear. This study investigates the impact of customary residence systems on both agricultural investment (in tea shrubs and agroforestry) and productivity among contracted smallholder tea outgrowers in Southern Malawi.

This article summarizes the evidence on youth land rights in Liberia from a literature review combined with primary research from two separate studies: (1) A qualitative assessment conducted as formative research to inform the design of the Land Rights and Sustainable Development (LRSD) project for Landesa and its partners’ community level interventions; and (2) a quantitative baseline survey of program beneficiaries as part of an evaluation of the LRSD project. The findings are presented using a Gender-Responsive Land Rights Framework that examines youth land rights through a gender lens.

Forests play a crucial role in the fight against global climate change. The communities that live in and around forests are well-placed to carry out climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) recognizes that social forestry enables communities to manage forests sustainably. It also helps them deliver on economic, social and environmental goals, including mitigation and adaptation. This has motivated ASEAN leaders to study and understand social forestry’s role in climate change and to strengthen its presence in the region.

Diversified livelihoods combining farming, livestock keeping and non-farm income are characteristic of many rural households worldwide. For the Central Asian and Caucasian region, livestock keeping is especially important in terms of land use and socio-cultural heritage.