LAND TENURE WORKING PAPER 8

Volontary guidelines for good governance
in land and natural resource tenure

Civil society perspectives

Sofia Monsalve Suarez
Leticia Marques Osorio
Malcolm Langford

FIAN International and Hakijamii (Economic and Social Rights Centre)

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FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS (FAO)
Rome, 2009

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ABSTRACT

The lack of adequate and secure access to land and natural resources by the rural and urban poor is one of the key causes of hunger and poverty in the world. Land tenure conflicts and related violations of human rights are the result of a range of structural and contextual factors. These include unequal power structures, overly market-oriented economic development models, elitist decision making processes, weak, corrupt and inefficient land administration institutions, discrimination in accessing justice, abuses of power by non-state actors; and persecution of organized social movements struggling for access to land and natural resources. Policy responses to address the current food crisis and climate change have also neglected to properly deal with the above mentioned pressing land and natural resources tenure issues and are often not human rights-based.

The FAO initiative for the adoption of guidelines for land and natural resources tenure is therefore timely as it would fill a serious policy gap. Different constituencies like women, indigenous and tribal peoples, fisherfolks, peasants and landless, forest communities, pastoralists, urban poor and other communities have been organizing themselves in order to articulate their views and demands regarding land and natural resources tenure. Their voices should be fully taken into account throughout a future process of adopting guidelines on governance of land tenure and natural resources.

Using a human rights framework for improving the governance of land and natural resources tenure is needed, and should be incorporated in the process of adopting any guidelines. Land and natural resources are vital for the realisation of the full range of human rights of women, indigenous peoples and marginalized groups. A human rights framework means addressing the unequal relationships of power and corruption within and behind prevailing land tenure structures. In that sense, a human rights framework can provide a unique contribution by making land tenure governance truly accountable, transparent, democratic and participatory.

If this can be achieved, guidelines on governance of land tenure and natural resources could become an instrument for social movements, marginalized groups and civil society at large democratizing land and natural resources tenure for the well-being of the whole society.