Addressing the Voluntary Guidelines in policies and laws
Sierra Leone has demonstrated a strong commitment to improving the governance of tenure using the Voluntary Guidelines. The new National Land Policy is designed to safeguard tenure rights, ensure equal access to land and tenure security and protect the rights of all citizens without any form of discrimination. The principles of the Voluntary Guidelines have been incorporated into the new policy (in sections 2.2.2 and 2.2.3) and over 90 paragraphs of the policy are closely based on the text of the Voluntary Guidelines.
The first step towards a national implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines took the form of a legal, policy and institutional assessment of the land, fisheries and forest sectors. Among the most significant outputs of this assessment is the National Land Policy Implementation Plan.
The Voluntary Guidelines was used to inform the drafting of the General Registration Act, the Registration of Instruments Act, and the Wildlife and Conservation Act.
In the fisheries sector, the policy dialogue on the Voluntary Guidelines addressed the drafting process of the Fisheries Policy and the Fisheries Development Strategy.
Work also included the forest sector and the drafting process of the Forestry Act.
The VGGT has also been integrated into Development plans at district level.
Capacity development
Developing the capacity of people and organizations so they participate effectively through training and learning programmes has been a crucial part of the reform process. Awareness was also raised through radio and television broadcasts.
FAO has provided technical support to Sierra Leone since 2014 with financial support from Germany, Belgium and the United Kingdom (DFID).