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Securing tenure rights to increase food security

Year of publication 2023

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 2p.

Author FAO

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Brochure, flyer, fact-sheet

Synopsis (short abstract) Tenure rights are crucial to the livelihoods of people as they define who can use which natural resources, for how long, and under which conditions. Tenure of natural resources is also essential for environmental sustainability and increased resilience and for enabling farmers to access other services. As the world population continues to grow and climate change reduces the availability of natural resources, increasing conflicts over land, and land deterioration are negatively affecting rural livelihoods on an unprecedented scale. In particular, women often have much weaker tenure rights than men, and they suffer discrimination by social customs, as well as by legal systems. The Voluntary Guidelines on Tenure (VGGT) are globally recognized as a reference for practices regarding the responsible governance of tenure. The urgent need to scale up the implementation of the VGGT to achieve food security for all was reaffirmed in 2022 on its 10th anniversary, while recognizing the centrality of land for development.

Last updated 15/06/2023

Language English

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    Improving Tenure Security for the Rural Poor: Rwanda – Country Case Study 2006
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    Most of the world’s poor work in the “informal economy” – outside of recognized and enforceable rules. Thus, even though most have assets of some kind, they have no way to document their possessions because they lack formal access to legally recognized tools such as deeds, contracts and permits. The Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor (CLEP) is the first global anti-poverty initiative focusing on the link between exclusion, poverty and law, looking for practical solutions to the cha llenges of poverty. CLEP aims to make legal protection and economic opportunity the right of all, not the privilege of the few. (see http://legalempowerment.undp.org/) FAO, with donor funding from Norway, has undertaken a set of activities for “Improving tenure security of the rural poor” in order to meet the needs of FAO member countries and, in turn, support the CLEP. This work falls within the FAO corporate strategy on “Sustainable rural livelihoods and more equitable access to resources ”. Recognizing that secure access to land and other natural resources (forests, water, fisheries, pastures, etc.) is a crucial factor for eradication of food insecurity and rural poverty, FAO’s cross-departmental and cross-disciplinary work focused 2005-2006 activities on sub-Saharan Africa which has the world’s highest percentage of poor and hungry people.
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    Brochure, flyer, fact-sheet
    Why land rights matter
    Tenure rights for secure access to natural resources
    2020
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    Why land rights matter: Tenure is essential to the livelihoods of billions of people where access to land and natural resources can mean the difference between having food and going hungry. People with weak, insecure tenure rights risk losing their means to self-support without access to land, fisheries and forests. When women have weaker tenure rights caused by discrimination in laws and customs, tenure rights can help promote, support and document fair and transparent processes aimed at ensuring improved access to natural resources for all concerned.
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    Book (series)
    Responsible Governance of Land Tenure: an essential factor for the realization of the Right to Food
    Land Tenure Working Paper
    2010
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    Land Tenure Working Paper 15. This publication brings to light the existing linkages between land tenure and the realization of the right to food. It points out that responsible governance of land requires the adoption of human rights-based approach in order to develop coherent and long term solutions to improve people’s livelihoods. The document presents the legal implications of the right to food at national level and provides a series of examples on the implementation of human rights principl es and obligations into land tenure systems, policies, and institutional frameworks. Presented as a background document for the Latin America Regional Consultation Meeting for the elaboration of the Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance on Tenure of Land and Natural Resources, it aims to encourage discussion and further analysis on the issues presented.
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