National Land Observatories

To build wide participation in collecting and sharing information about large-scale land acquisitions, contribute to the growing movement towards open development, and foster greater public involvement in critical decisions that affect the lives of land-users, the Land Matrix currently supports five National Land Observatories (NLOs) in Argentina, Cameroon, Philippines, Senegal and Uganda.

This decentralisation process is essential for improving data quality and promoting transparency and accountability in decisions over land and investments. To support this process, the Land Matrix has four Regional Focal Points (RFPs) in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America which assist with data collection, research, advocacy, networking, and communication, as well as the establishment of these NLOs in selected countries.

What are National Land Observatories?

NLOs are funded activities at country level. By working with local partners in collecting, managing, and reviewing land data, they:

• Provide an opportunity for information-sharing and dialogue within existing multi-stakeholder platforms.
• Facilitate policy influence at national level (where most land governance decisions are made).

Are you interested in establishing a National Land Observatory in your country? Or are you part of an independent land governance structure or initiative that could benefit from our support? If so, we invite you to get in touch!

Please note: While we do record land acquisitions in a number of low- and middle-income countries, we do not cover all countries in which land acquisitions take place. In other words, if land acquisitions for a particular country are not recorded in our database, it does not mean that there are no land acquisitions taking place in that country; it just means we have not captured them.