Investors have a major role to play in tenure governance, improving the access to land and other natural resources and increasing the security of tenure. Research has demonstrated how costly it is not to deal with tenure issues within development investment interventions, putting much-needed development plans and capital at risk. There is a high demand for land services by development investment projects, especially in the rapidly changing domain of communal, customary and traditional land rights. Governments have responded by creating opportunities for public-private investments to play a role in securing tenure rights for the beneficiaries.

A plethora of fit-for-purpose land administration technologies is now within reach for all. While several private sector players in this field are providing valuable services, they are not well placed to integrate their efforts into the national land registration systems, leading to inefficiencies, greater risks for communities and investors, and unsustainable costs as these ad hoc efforts do not provide a systematic approach to addressing tenure rights and sustaining the land information generated. The future of tenure governance will depend on how much it is mainstreamed across public and private investments. Choices made in the application of technology will be as influential as the policy choices made by national governments and will shape the future of tenure security. GT4T tools enable the cost-effective implementation of legal and policy frameworks. Working alongside relevant National Ministries / Agencies as a trusted partner, we offer technical cooperation through FAO that includes:

• Delivery of impartial and field-tested services.
• Rapid Tenure Assessments undertaken at project sites.
• Strategic advice on the application of “Fit-for-Purpose” land administration technologies addressing technical and policy perspectives.
• Capacity building for Government counterparts, stakeholders, and project staff.

Combining geospatial and information technology and participatory methods for securing tenure rights (GeoTech4Tenure)

This 4-week programme delivered online through two high-impact 2-hour learning sessions held every week, provided invaluable insights to project staff and government partners to find solutions to secure tenure rights through participatory methods and geomatics technology.

This course is intended for development partners and organizations interested or involved in FAO and IFAD operations. It was designed with IFAD and FAO country teams and technical specialists in mind, along with staff from IFAD-supported projects whose work involves land tenure. Four sessions of the course have taken place in both English and Spanish. In the near future it will be offered in French as well.

Participants will learn:

• The core concepts of tenure, tenure security and tenure governance.
• The challenges and opportunities surrounding tenure issues for development investments.
• Methods for participatory land recordation and mapping.
• The use of different geospatial and information technologies for land recordation.
• The criteria for selecting the most appropriate technologies for a given situation.

 The course contains the following components:

• An e-learning and GT4T Technical Guide delivered by leading land experts.
• Peer-to-peer learning opportunities with colleagues from all over the world.

This course has been developed in collaboration with IFAD. It is funded by IFAD’s Innovation Challenge Programme, with additional financial and technical support from FAO and IFAD.