48 Hours in Wales: what I learned about land rights from people who don’t work in land rights

A few weeks ago I had the good fortune to take part in an Aspen UK residential seminar at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, in Lampeter, in rural Wales.

This webinar, the fourth of the Advancing Land-based Investment Governance (ALIGN) series, took place on February 9th, 2024, under the title “When carbon markets go wrong: How to ensure access to remedy for land tenure violations”. The webinar drew in 562 participants and featured panelists from policy experts to community leaders. The webinar was jointly organized by the Land Portal Foundation, the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), Namati and the Columbia Center on Sustainable Development (CCSI).   

Piece by Piece

Raúl Moreno waited 15 years for a land title to the property he owns in the town of La Macarena. During the wait, the elementary school teacher and community leader built his home, piece by piece.

Desde una comunidad en el corazón de la crisis climática, la lideresa guaraní Mariela Melgar Ibáñez cree que las mujeres indígenas tienen la clave para resolver la crisis climática. “El mundo debe conocer nuestras formas de vida y el rol que tenemos dentro de el cuidado del medio ambiente; Las mujeres somos fundamentales, luchamos por el territorio.”

By Peter Sangeyon, Gender and Land Champion, WOLTS Project Tanzania

From 1995 to 2005 I was the village chairman, and I was a ward councillor for ten years after that. I was very pleased when the community selected me to be a WOLTS gender and land champion.

By TMG Research gGmbH

A Contribution by Jes Weigelt, Moritz Hauer & Frederike Klümper (TMG Research)

Land Rights and Gender Responsive Climate Action Seminar

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

As we get to the end of the year, I want to sincerely thank you for your support and trust in 2023.

Ensuring secure land tenure is crucial for improving land development, as both local and foreign investors often hesitate to engage in land transactions when there is uncertainty about ownership rights. The term "Land Tenure Insecurity" refers to the apprehension that someone else might claim ownership of the purchased land in the future, creating a significant risk for investment. This phenomenon is particularly common in the Sub-Saharan African Region of which Ghana is no exception. The positive impact of land tenure security is far-reaching.

This blog post is part of the series What to Read.