Join the second session organized by the responsible agricultural investment (RAI) team to discover FAO’s new publication, Committee on World Food Security’s Resources Toolkit: Turning Global Standards into local action – a practical resource to support the application of global guidance at national and local levels.  

A new special issue of the Land Tenure Journal explores experiences from Africa, Latin America and Asia, examining progress, lessons learned and ongoing challenges in translating VGGT principles into policy reforms and improved tenure governance.

How can operational land observatories ensure that data and evidence effectively inform public action and land reform? How can land reforms remain responsive to local realities and challenges? How can policymakers access the information needed to guide decisions, monitor progress, and adapt reforms over time?

How are Indigenous Peoples contributing to ecosystem restoration and monitoring around the world? The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is pleased to invite Indigenous Peoples’ organizations and relevant partners to contribute to the Global Survey on Indigenous Peoples’ Restoration and Monitoring.

Some reflections on the key outcomes and what they mean for the land tenure agenda. Yet within that difficulty, several threads of the negotiations emerged where genuine progress was made, where technical work translated into political traction, and where the ground was laid for something concrete to follow.

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.