Secure land tenure is a tool of empowerment. It leads to productive land investments, increased autonomy to make decisions over land by women, men and communities contributing to higher incomes. The co-relationship between secure land tenure and increased food production is central to tackle hunger. Women with secure land hold independence to make decisions and ability to influence conditions of their families. With the security of land people are motivated to participate in climate change mitigation and adaptation measures.

Conflict and corruption over land hamper achieving peaceful and just societies. People’s participation in decision-making, access to information and protecting human rights of land and environmental defenders are enabling factors to achieve all the SDGs.

This session shared the concern that despite the centrality of secure tenure rights to achieve all the SDGs, Member States fall short of their land rights commitments to incentivize bold action to secure land rights by promoting strategic reporting that celebrates Member States who have made progress and calls out those who have yet to sufficiently prioritize land rights The research conducted by the SDG Land Momentum Group showed that in 2020 only seven countries partially reported on the land targets. Out of the 2021, second and third time reporting countries, no country has reported on all the key land targets previously. While bringing the importance and under reporting, the session included case studies from a couple countries and showcased some relevant lessons learnt from the COVID pandemic.