Land tenure is not a sectoral issue, it is a cross-cutting development priority

Governance of tenure is increasingly recognized as a critical element for addressing broader development challenges. Integrating land tenure considerations into global and national policy processes helps place land rights and responsible land governance at the centre of wider development agendas.

This area of work focuses on scaling-up land tenure security by embedding tenure considerations in global policy processes and financing frameworks. It includes integrating land tenure into global agendas on climate, biodiversity and food systems, supporting the recognition and protection of collective land rights.

Strengthening the visibility of land tenure and governance in international processes helps ensure that investments and global initiatives do not undermine land rights but instead reinforce tenure security and social legitimacy.

FAO contributes to mainstreaming and upscaling governance of tenure by:

• Elevating the discourse around land tenure security and governance to build awareness, trigger action and strengthen accountability among stakeholders.
• Integrating tenure considerations into global dialogues, forums and monitoring frameworks related to key policy areas such as gender equality, climate and nature, food systems and natural resource management, migration, conflict and resilience, human rights, inequality and democracy.
• Contributing to global processes and partnerships, supporting the recognition of collective land rights, particularly in forest areas.
• Strengthening the links between tenure rights and other fundamental rights, in line with States’ obligations under international law to respect, protect and fulfil civil, political, economic, cultural and social rights.
• Convening governments, civil society and development partners to strengthen coordination and strategic partnerships.
• Promoting gender transformative approaches and applying them in land tenure initiatives and programmes.

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