The United Nations General Assembly at its 76th session declared 2026 the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (#IYRP2026), a global initiative that highlights the importance of rangelands and pastoralist systems for food security, ecosystem health and sustainable livelihoods.

The Second International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ICARRD+20) and its Final Declaration marked a significant aggiornamento of the international and multi stakeholder debate on the relation between agrarian reform and rural development, twenty years after the realization of ICARRD 2006 in Brazil.

This special issue seeks to identify, analyze, and assess emerging strategies and shifts that contribute to the recognition and the protection of Indigenous Peoples’ land rights whether through legal frameworks, governance arrangements, community-based initiatives, or socio-political process.

Twenty years after the first International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development, ICARRD+20 acknowledged that women and girls continue to face persistent structural barriers “in accessing land tenure, ownership, and secure, documented rights to land, forests and water.”

Launch of the Status of Land Tenure and Governance (SLTG) report, the knowledge product of the Global Land Observatory (GLO), an FAO initiative in partnership with the International Land Coalition (ILC) and the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD).

FAO and Land for Life Sierra Leone (LfL-SLE) have launched a six-month initiative to strengthen the capacities of four district multi-stakeholder platforms in Kenema, Pujehun, Port Loko and Tonkolili. The initiative aims to reinforce local-level tenure governance, reduce land-related conflict, and promote gender-responsive and inclusive decision-making..

In Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Colombia, MSPs are demonstrating how governments, civil society, and communities can work together to turn the VGGT into concrete progress. Supported by the FAO and guided by the partnership expertise of The Partnering Initiative (TPI), these platforms have become essential mechanisms for building trust, improving policy, and driving local action.

The discussions highlighted two complementary elements of partnerships in land governance. The first emphasizes their importance in underpinning multistakeholder platforms (MSPs) in land policy processes. These platforms provide spaces for dialogue and negotiation while combining resources, expertise, and legitimacy. Throughout Africa, civil society organizations and communities have stressed the need to unify their voices through multistakeholder platforms.

Sierra Leone stands as a compelling example of innovation in land governance. Since the adoption of the National Land Policy in 2015, the country has embraced a multistakeholder approach to guide its land reform efforts. Today, its commitment is reflected in a revitalized National Multistakeholder Platform (MSP) and 9 District MSPs.

Just back from Colombia, I’d like to share a few reflections from the International Land Coalition’s GLF, which took place in Bogotá from 16 to 20 June. This year’s Forum, as in previous editions, proved to be a dynamic and thoughtful space for exchange. It provided a timely reminder of the relevance and urgency of securing land tenure for all.

FAO and its partners – The International Collaboration, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), and Welthungerhilfe – met in Bogotá, Colombia at the Global Land Forum, to share insights, lessons learned, and challenges related to Multi-Stakeholder Platforms (MSPs) in influencing land governance processes and creating tangible impacts on the ground

In Sierra Leone, access to land is vital for rural livelihoods. This is evident in Kenema and Bo districts, where agriculture and farming drive local economies. In these areas, land governance is predominantly managed by chiefs and male lineage heads, limiting women, young people, and migrants from participating in decision-making processes.

In Sierra Leone, access to land is vital for rural livelihoods. This is evident in Kenema and Bo districts, where agriculture and farming drive local economies. In these areas, land governance is predominantly managed by chiefs and male lineage heads, limiting women, young people, and migrants from participating in decision-making processes.

Two groups of indigenous peoples are officially recognised in the Central African Republic, notably by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. One is the Bayaka (AKA), who live mainly in the equatorial forest of the south-west of the country, across four prefectures in this region. Traditionally hunter-gatherers, they are widely regarded as the country’s first inhabitants.

Faced with recurring land conflicts and the need to revise the 1967 legislation, a participatory process to draw up Chad's National Land Policy (Politique foncière nationale du Tchad) has been underway since 2022. A workshop to consult traditional chiefs and religious leaders was organized in 2023 as part of this participatory and inclusive process to draw up the policy.

Several colleagues from the Land Tenure Team were in Washington D.C at the 2025 World Bank Land Conference from 5 to 8 May. As every year, the Conference was again the hotspot for networking. This edition, themed “Securing Land Tenure and Access for Climate Action: Moving from Awareness to Action”.

Originally used as research tools, land observatories (Observatoires du Foncier) in Africa have become essential land governance mechanisms since the 1990s. Against a backdrop of growing pressure on land, increasing land-use conflicts and droughts exacerbated by climate change, land observatories are playing a key role in supporting land reforms in many countries.

On May 16, 2024, the FAO, OXFAM Novib, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), the World Bank and other partners organized an interactive session to critically reflect on how partnerships on land reforms work in practice. The session opened with a panel discussion on how multi-stakeholder partnerships have helped to trigger inclusive land reforms, particularly for land policy formulation process.

On October 29 and 30, 2024, a multi-stakeholder workshop aimed at validating the roadmap for the preparation of the national land policy was held in Yaoundé, under the high patronage of the Minister of Domains, Cadastre and Land Affairs, His Excellency Mr Henri EYEBE AYISSI. The workshop, organized by FAO in collaboration with GIZ, the International Land Coalition and other partners.

On July 4-5, 2024, a new FAO project titled “Improving governance of tenure and reducing conflicts related to cross-border transhumance in Chad, Cameroon and Central African Republic” was officially launched under the Presidency of the Ministry of Domains, Cadastre and Land Affairs of Cameroon.