As Parliamentary gender quotas have become increasingly popular, so too
has the debate surrounding their effectiveness in enhancing women’s
representation and gender equality in governments around the world. Women offer
unique and important perspectives to the political process, and thus their increased
political representation and empowerment can advance the very process of
development. In 2003, the Rwandan government Constitutionally enacted a gender

Across the developing world, rural women suffer widespread gender-based discrimination in laws, customs and practices cause severe inequalities in their ability to access, control, own and use land and limit their participation in decision-making at all levels of land governance.

This paper is about land tenure relations among the matrilineal and patrilineal cultures in Malawi. Data from the National Agricultural and Livestock Census are used to characterize marriage systems and settlement and landholding patterns for local communities. Marriage systems correspond to customary land tenure patterns of matrilineal or patrilineal land holding. The differences between the two major ways of land holding represent a particular challenge for land reforms intending to unify rules for land tenure and land devolution.

In Africa, the pursuit of gender equality in inheritance rights remains one of the most difficult challenges due to its entrenched patriarchal characteristics. This is also the case in the rural communities of South-Eastern Nigeria. This article investigates gender discrimination in the region, among the Igbo ethnic group, with regard to land property rights; and makes policy recommendations to overcome the failures of past intervention efforts, many of which considered this problem as too culturally sensitive.

Across Africa, land is integral to identity and existence. Access to, and ownership of land for women is often problematic – particularly when laws and culture collide. Land issues, including family property matters, are often determined within entrenched cultural norms, resulting in the application of a hybrid legal interpretation of both customary and national law that leaves many women at a disadvantage. Under the Commonwealth Plan of Action for Gender Equality 2005-2015, the Commonwealth Secretariat has spearheaded efforts to secure women’s rights to land in Africa.

Why are the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests important?

The National Strategy for Agriculture in Guyana is a strategic instrument with a multi-sectoral approach, applicable at the national level and related to the period from 2013 to 2020. Guyana’s Vision for Agriculture 2020 seeks to change the view that agriculture is for subsistence livelihood while it also seeks to promote agriculture as a wealth generator and entrepreneurial enterprise, producing food and non-food commodities to meet local and export demands.

Aiming at the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Rangelands, as announced in the Vision, the Jordan Government has elaborated the National Rangeland Strategy, updating the strategy developed in 2001, to be implemented within maximum 5 years. The overall goal is to support and develop the rangelands sector and enhance the integrative role of concerned parties and participation of local communities in natural resources management.

Les Stratégies nationales d’engagement (SNE) représentent la première étape d’une approche mise en œuvre au niveau national par la Coalition internationale pour l’accès à la terre (ILC) afin de créer les conditions favorables à une évolution inclusive et centrée sur les personnes des politiques dans le secteur foncier.

This presentation highlights the key outcomes for Phase I and II and looks ahead towards the objectives and expected outcomes of Phase III of the Norad supported Grassroots Capacity Building for REDD+ in Asia project.

The guide focuses on equity and on how land tenure can be governed in ways that address the different needs and priorities of women and men. It moves away from long-standing debates about gender equality in access to land, towards the mainstreaming of gender issues to achieve more gender-equitable participation in the processes and institutions that underlie all decision-making about land.