Status of Land Tenure and Governance

This report, published by FAO and our partners CIRAD and the International Land Coalition (ILC) -- with substantial contributions by the Land Matrix -- is the first comprehensive global stocktake designed to track how land is owned, used and governed. It generates, presents and assesses innovative data, and extracts insights regarding land tenure systems and governance frameworks, with special focus on women's land rights and the importance of customary tenure for mitigating climate change and ensuring the protection of biodiversity.

Bringing together tenure- and sex- disaggregated data and analyses on land tenure and governance from a variety of sources (governments, civil society and academia) at different levels (from local to global), it builds an evidence base for action towards the achievement of numerous Sustainable Development Goals, the uptake of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT), and other international frameworks (such as the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems [CFS-RAI] and the Rio Conventions).

The report also aims to provide policymakers, intergovernmental organizations, civil society, the private sector, and academia with a clear reference point on data and analyses on land tenure and governance. Moreover, it endeavours to mainstream and highlight the importance of land tenure for inclusive and sustainable development.

Read the report here.