Online exchange: The 10th anniversary of the VGGT in times of multiple crises

Taking stock and assessing the way forward for responsible land governance and food security 

In times of multiple crises, such as conflicts, the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, and rising global food prices, the pressure on land resources continues to grow. Safeguarding fair and equal access to land remains essential to food security and food systems transformation.

The 10th anniversary of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT) provides an opportunity to take stock, evaluate and discuss the potential of the VGGT as a tool to improve both, land governance and food security worldwide.

Co-organised by Welthungerhilfe, the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA)/Land Matrix Initiative, and International Land Coalition (ILC), and with contributions by TMG Research and Working Group on Peace and Development (FriEnt), the virtual thematic exchange on 28 November 2022 at 2pm (CET) will reflect on the impact of the Guidelines over the past 10 years and identify effective approaches and opportunities to improve their utilisation in times of multiple crises.

Based on the experiences of different actors from civil society, research, and politics worldwide, the role and interlinkages of the VGGT with conflict transformation and human rights-based approaches as well as approaches to supporting the implementation such as multi-actor partnerships or data transparency for accountability, will be discussed.

The results of the exchange will be translated into a set of concrete recommendations that will feed into an in-person political panel taking place on 30 November 2022 in Berlin, and moreover inform a more effective way forward for the implementation of the VGGT in the context of multiple crises and food security. 

We look forward to your participation! 

REGISTER HERE

WELCOMING REMARKS 

• Asja Hanano, Welthungerhilfe

PART I: Taking stock - 10 Years of VGGTs
Presentation and Q&A

• Marc Wegerif, VGGT+10 Initiative
• Ward Anseeuw, Land Matrix Initiative
• Jolyne Sanjak, Land Tenure and Property Rights at Tetra Tech ARD

Part II: The way forward - Improving the effectiveness of the VGGTs 
Break-out sessions with introductory inputs and open discussion

• Session 1: Data for accountability 
  The session will discuss the current development of monitoring tools and platforms to hold stakeholders accountable based on the VGGTs and their scope to foster the implementation of the VGGT (Lead: LMI)
• Session 2: Multi-actor partnerships
  The session will reflect on multi-actor partnerships as a tool for VGGT implementation as well as the role of different stakeholder groups (e.g. communities, civil society, government, private sector) in the implementation and the obstacles and successes in the cooperation and engagement (Lead: WHH/ILC)
• Session 3: Human rights
  This session will discuss the connections between human rights and the VGGT and the use of new human rights-based land governance tools for accountability and advocacy (Lead: TMG Research)
• Session 4: Conflict settings
  This session will reflect on the contribution of the VGGT framework to conflict resolution/peacebuilding approaches to protect local livelihoods and food security. (Lead: FriEnt)

CONCLUDING REMARKS

• Martin Hoppe, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany
• Christoph Kubitza, German Institute for Global and Area Studies/Land Matrix Initiative

Moderation:

• Lisa Witter