ABSTRACTED FROM THE OBJECTIVES SECTION: These Voluntary Guidelines seek to improve governance of tenure of land*, fisheries and forests. They seek to do so for the benefit of all, with an emphasis on vulnerable and marginalized people, with the goals of food security and progressive realization of the right to adequate food, poverty eradication, sustainable livelihoods, social stability, housing security, rural development, environmental protection and sustainable social and economic development.

The Land Tenure Journal is a peer-reviewed, open-access flagship journal of the Climate, Energy and Tenure Division (NRC) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The Land Tenure Journal, launched in early 2010, is a successor to the Land Reform, Land Settlement and Cooperatives, which was published between 1964 and 2009. The Land Tenure Journal is a medium for the dissemination of quality information and diversified views on land and natural resources tenure. It aims to be a leading publication in the areas of land tenure, land policy and land reform.

INTRODUCTION: Large-scale land acquisitions are a reality in most regions worldwide. Vast areas of land are leased to foreign as well as national investors on a long term basis of 30-99 years. A growing number of reports, referring to this practice as ‘land grabbing’, show that these mostly very intransparent deals tend to go along with corruption, forced evictions and other human rights violations as well as enhanced competition over water.

With a view to operationalizing the recently adopted Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Forests and Fisheries, this paper identifies gaps in existing World Bank safeguard policies with respect to tenure.

The voluntary guidelines do not create an absolute obligation. They are a basic tool that can be used to bring about changes in governance policies and practices associated with the tenure regimes applicable to land, fisheries and forests. The recommendations they contain are highly legitimate insofar as they were signed in late 2012 by the member states of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) following a drafting process that placed significant emphasis on the views of civil society around the world.

Sierra Leone is one of the least developed countries in the world and is still recovering from a civil war that ended in 2002. Increasingly, the Sierra Leonean government seeks to attract foreign investors through providing opportunities for large-scale land leases for the development of agribusiness. This has triggered a rapid transformation process that poses a considerable threat to food security and social stability. Despite being a pilot country for the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure, there is no real change on the ground as yet.

On the 11th May 2012, the Committee on World Food Security of the United Nations adopted the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests (VGGT). Rural 21 asked Roman Herre of the human rights organisation FIAN about his views on the implementation of the Guidelines so far.

FAO published its Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure (VGGT) of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security in 2012. The purpose of these guidelines is to serve as reference and to provide guidance to improve the governance of tenure of land, fisheries and forest with the overarching goal of achieving food security for all and to support the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security.

FAO published its Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure (VGGT) of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security in 2012. The purpose of these guidelines is to serve as reference and to provide guidance to improve the governance of tenure of land, fisheries and forest with the overarching goal of achieving food security for all and to support the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security. The guidelines were translated into Lao and published in 2013.

Between 2005 and 2009 the emergence of large-scale acquisitions of land or ‘land grabbing’ for production of food and energy feedstocks, and private forest plantations in developing countries, triggered various responses from global actors.

This guide explores the legal dimensions of responsible governance of tenure. It supports the application of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure for Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security at the national level. The guide addresses the legal value of the Guidelines covering the governance of tenure of land, fisheries and forests by explaining the concept of legitimacy and reviewing the different stages of legislative processes, from legal assessment and law-making through implementation of legislation to settlement of disputes.

The VGGT represent the first inter-governmental consensus on the principles and accepted standards for the responsible governance of tenure for governments, international organisations, communities, and the private sector. Their aim is to promote secure tenure rights and equitable access to land, fisheries and forests as a means of eradicating hunger and poverty, supporting sustainable development and enhancing the environment.The Guidelines serve as a reference and set out principles and internationally accepted standards for practices for the responsible governance of tenure.