2020 Asia Land Forum & Regional Assembly
The Asia Land Forum and Regional Assembly, organised by the International Land Coalition Asia (ILC Asia) and taking place 6-9 October, aims at developing a common ground of the political, economic, environmental, and social linkages between land governance, food security, poverty, and democracy.
The Covid-19 pandemic is a wake-up call on our food systems. In Asia, while family farmers produce most of the world’s food, they remain lacking control over tenurial security and food security, among others. Further, governments’ policies to ensure food security in the times of Covid-19 tend to be partial, failing to take into account the key roles that family farmers play to promote sustainable, resilient, and diversified food systems.
Securing the right to land and natural resources for the landless, indigenous peoples, pastoral communities, women, youth, and peasant groups is fundamentally more relevant now than ever, in order to build back better. Land rights are a foundational element to various pillars of sustainable development: more resilient local food systems; more equitable, labour and youth absorbing socio‑economic models; more sustainable environmental management systems; and stronger local democracies.
The disruption of food chains caused by the pandemic has weakened family farmers, women pastoralists, indigenous peoples in their livelihoods. This is why we need local solutions that take full account of the potential diversity of the region’s food systems. It is within this context that the International Land Coalition (ILC), Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA), and the People's Campaign for Agrarian Reform Network (AR Now!) are convening this regional event.
About the 2020 Asia Land Forum & Regional Assembly
Every year, ILC Asia organises the Asia Land Forum (ALF). This unique event brings together ILC members and other stakeholders ranging from grassroots organisations, activists, local and international NGOs and researchers, to multilateral organisations and government agencies from the region. By convening all members and key partners of the network, the Forum creates opportunities for participants to learn from, and contribute to, land governance successes and challenges. The Forum is also an opportunity for ILC Asia’s 54 members to adopt a declaration with a common action plan during the Regional Assembly.
Find out more about this event, including the programme, and register here.
