FAO is building capacity among member states and key partners to leverage emerging geospatial technologies' power to secure equitable access to land for rural communities. This rapidly developing field holds the potential to provide cost-effective solutions to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of land tenure governance and land management policies and systems, and ultimately improve the lives of those who depend on the land for their livelihoods.

GeoTech4Tenure connects leading land and geospatial experts and tenure specialists with regional and local partners and stakeholders to provide practical guidance in developing and implementing solutions tailored to the unique national contexts and realities found within local projects. Through virtual workshop programs and in-country technical support, we provide a broad range of services to ensure that participants are better equipped to mainstream inclusive development approaches and select the most appropriate technologies to suit their needs.

Background

GeoTech4Tenure began as a capacity-building initiative in partnership between IFAD and FAO which recognized that geospatial and information technologies present a unique opportunity to strengthen participatory development methodologies. Firstly, from a tenure perspective, it is becoming apparent that the future of tenure governance will not be dominated exclusively by top-down public investments in land administration. Over the last two decades, large-scale national land reform investments have become fewer in number and smaller in scale, and they tend to continue diminishing since countries have many other urgent needs to invest in. Secondly, there are several other exciting opportunities to make use of technologies to increase participation among groups that have typically been excluded from land recordation exercises such as women and youth. Research is increasingly highlighting the importance of tenure security and sustainable land management in critical areas such as food security, peace consolidation, and efforts to build sustainability, resilience and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Overall, FAO's services in the field of land tenure are designed to promote sustainable and responsible land management practices while also promoting social and economic equality and well-being. By working with governments, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders, FAO is helping to create more secure and equitable land tenure and land management systems that benefit all members of society.