Improving Global Land Governance with Technologies, Partnerships and Donor Coherence

Adequately reviewing the latest best practices and technologies in land governance is crucial for securing land tenure and for reaching other development objectives, such as fighting poverty, food security, women’s empowerment and reducing conflict. The 2012 “Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security” set out measures to enhance land governance at all levels, to be taken by host and home governments and by private sector companies. Global donors and policymakers are increasingly interested in this issue and have acknowledged the need to enhance the knowledge base on assets and deficiencies of land governance tools, initiatives, and partnerships. However, policy-oriented research is often scattered across disciplines and not always readily accessible to donor organisations, policymakers or development practitioners.

In order to bridge this gap, the Donor Platform’s Working Group on Land commissioned studies to examine the current knowledge base available in four different yet highly interlinked areas: technologies, multistakeholder partnerships, policy coherence and private sector engagement. They prepare the ground work to guide donors in prioritising activities and investments in land governance.