Governance of Tenure

SUCCESSFUL ENDORSEMENT OF THE VOLUNTARY GUIDELINES

On 11 May 2012 the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) officially endorsed the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security.

Voluntary Guidelines on the Governance of Tenure were prepared through intergovernmental negotiations. They set out principles and internationally accepted standards for responsible practices.

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The Voluntary Guidelines are available in:
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An informal aid on reading the Voluntary Guidelines:
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What is Tenure?

What is Governance of Tenure?

Tenure and its relation to hunger, poverty and the environment

Tenure is how people gain access to land, fisheries, forests and other natural resources. Having secure and equitable access to natural resources can allow people to produce food for their consumption and to increase income. Inadequate and insecure tenure rights to natural resources often result in extreme poverty and hunger.

Governance of tenure affects if, and how, people are able to acquire rights to use and to control these resources. Many tenure problems arise because of weak governance, and the quality of governance affects the attempts to fix these problems.

The eradication of hunger and poverty, and the sustainable use of the environment, depend in large measure on how people, communities and others gain access to land and other natural resources. The livelihoods of many, particularly the rural poor, are based on secure and equitable access to and control over these resources. They are the source of food and shelter; the basis for social, cultural and religious practices; and a central factor in economic growth.


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Contact

FAO - Climate, Energy and Tenure Division (NRC)
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00153 Rome, Italy
Email: VG-tenure@fao.org

EndingHunger.org