This guide is an aid for companies to achieve positive and resilient rapports with their host communities. It provides accessible information to understand factors that have an influence on community support and how this can be measured.

This guide is aimed at legal professionals working with governments, civil society, the private sector or development agencies as well as law societies, notaries, judges and all those who are interested in understanding the role of law in giving effect to the provisions of the Guidelines (VGGT). The VGGT provide important elements for shaping a well-functioning legal framework to facilitate their effective implementation at the national level.

This report draws on 10 case studies of recent large-scale land deals and aims to improve understanding of the investment chains that underpin the deals, and to identify ‘pressure points’ for effective public action to ensure that investments respond to local and national development agendas and promote inclusive sustainable development. The findings of this research demonstrate the wide scope for strategies to be targeted at diverse actors, by a wide range of players, to ensure that investments uphold the Voluntary Guidelines (VGGT).

This paper tries to show the advantages - both in productivity and consumer appeal - of domestic and global companies connecting with smallholder suppliers. It draws on programme experience and case studiesin the food and drinks sector where companies aimed to deliver value for their business in ways that would also benefit smallholder suppliers.

This paper provides guidance on how to integrate consultation and FPIC principles into investor-state contract negotiations to actively involve project-affected communities and better safeguard their land rights and human rights. It proposes various options that may be appropriate, depending on the local context and the community’s resources and decision-making structures.

This guide aims to assist non-lawyers to better understand investment contracts that concern forestry projects. These "forestry contracts" can be complex, and some provisions may be difficult to understand. This guide aims to assist the reader in understanding technical provisions found in these contracts, by providing explanations for common provisions, as well as a glossary of certain legal and technical terms.

This resource is part of the CCSI’s Directory of Community Guidance on Agreements Relating to Agriculture or Forestry Investment.

This report explains TMP Systems’ statistical analysis of how geospatial data showing indicators of local environmental, social and governance (ESG) conditions correlate with tenure risk. The results indicate strong enough correlations between some of these indicators and tenure risk, to support use of the indicators by companies and investors. This work underpins something new and useful, which is Landscope’s ability to provide location-specific risk assessments across many developing countries.

Unprecedented is the number of international efforts by governments and private actors alike that seek to foster sustainable landscapes around the globe for the wellbeing of humans and nature. Working towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, the Bonn Challenge, the New York Declaration on Forests, the Aichi Targets of the CBD, the Paris Agreement, or regional efforts like the African Agenda 2063, the Global Landscapes Forum in Bonn 2018 aims to accelerate and mobilize collective action on the ground.

Increasing global demand for natural resources is intensifying competition for land across the developing world, pushing companies onto territories that many Indigenous Peoples and rural communities have sustainably managed for generations.

The paper highlights the fast changes in understanding and conceptualizing the complex topic of land governance, its multi-facetted aspects and inter-linkages to other thematic sectors. Major policy developments, such as state divestiture and increasing private investment into land, and a stronger and more influential role of Civil Society Organizations are addressed in more detail. Capacity development at all levels (e. g. academic, administrative, community, private investors) is identified to be essential for good and transparent governance in the sector.

Policy reform is required to more accurately value natural capital and incentivize green investments through aligned subsidies, supportive financial measures, and risk mitigation support.

A centralized system that synthesizes evidence and connects projects to investors would both improve awareness of initiatives and funding sources, and build capacity and financial literacy.

Key information gaps persist in reporting, monitoring and impact assessment. Leveraging a centralized system could reduce redundancies, enhance cost-effectiveness and bridge finance gaps.