www.landportal.info: the gateway to land information | Land Portal

During the 3rd European Forum on Rural Development —convened by the European Commission, the Government of Spain and the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development in Palencia, Spain, from 29 March to 1 April 2011— representatives from the International Land Coalition (ILC), ActionAid, the Instituto de Estudios del Hambre (IEH), the Centro de Estudios Rurales y de Agricultura Internacional (CERAI) and the association pour contribuer à améliorer la gouvernance dela terre, de l'eau et des ressources naturelles (AGTER) joined together to launch the Land Portal (www.landportal.info), a powerful, new online tool designed to make finding, sharing, and collaborating on land information easier and more effective.

 
“Information on access to land and its close relationship with poverty, food security and rural development is crucial for improving national land policies in countries around the world. Since land information is dispersed and difficult to locate, the Land Portal will help to aggregate it and make it available to a wide range of users”, said Annalisa Mauro, Programme Manager at the International Land Coalition Secretariat.

 
“The Land Portal was originated by the International Land Coalition and Landtenure.info and currently we are a partnership of more than 40 land-concerned organizations”, said Vicent Garces, director of CERAI. The Land Portal enables users to quickly and easily search multiple databases at the same time; find reliable and updated information by country and theme; customize user and organizational profiles and alerts; and share knowledge by uploading and validating content in a range of formats. It also helps people to connect and collaborate with a vibrant user community around the world, enabling them to join thematic working groups and build collective actions.

 “Since access to and control over land is under threat for millions of people around the world, being able to access key information as well as different visions and analyses of land tenure issues is of crucial importance at this moment”, said Michel Merlet, Director of AGTER.

 The Third European Forum on Rural Development brought together more than 400 people from governments, international and civil society organizations, academia, and the private sector. “Social movements around the world are working to ensure secure rights over land for agricultural and rural development, and sustainable livelihoods. The Land Portal has the potential to unite different struggles related to land, promoting mutual learning, inspiration, and the achievement of greater results”, said Aftab Alam Khan from ActionAid International.

 The Forum was a great opportunity to share experiences on trends and emerging issues in the governance of natural resources in relation to rural development, agriculture, food security and nutrition, of which secure and equitable access to land is a crucial component.  “That’s why for the Institute of Hunger Studies (IEH), a think tank organization specialized in food security issues, the Land Portal is an important tool linking food security and land access”, said Francisco Sarmento from IEH.

 
The Land Portal is sponsored by the European Commission, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Omidyar Network (ON) and Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD). Please visit the Land Portal at www.landportal.info and watch the promotional video at http://www.vimeo.com/21724375.

 
Contact: Annalisa Mauro l.mauro@landcoalition.org; Laura Meggiolaro laura.meggiolaro@landportal.info

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