n 2012, the National Government signed the Agreement for prosperity (Acuerdo para la Prosperidad No. 79), which seeks the conservation and sustainable use of the natural and cultural heritage of the country and aimed to create a space for dialogue between governmental institutions and the peasant delegations. This aiming to face the numerous socio-environmental challenges in Natural Parks and surrounding areas of protected areas. On the one hand, there is the transformation of the protected areas.

The Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT) were endorsed by the Committee on World Food Security in May 2012. These Voluntary Guidelines have been described as a catalyst leading to improvements in conditions under which land is held or occupied in agricultural sectors. The Voluntary Guidelines address problems of weak governance of tenure and the growing pressure on natural resources, providing the basis for countries to achieve food security for all.

FAO’s Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT) were endorsed by the Committee on World Food Security in May 2012. These Voluntary Guidelines have been described as a catalyst leading to improvements in the conditions under which land is held or occupied in the agriculture sectors. The Guidelines address problems of weak governance of tenure and the growing pressure on natural resources, thereby assisting countries to achieve food security for all.

Given the complementarities that exist between the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT) and the Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy in Africa (F&G), there is a need to achieve a coordinated approach to their application to ensure that the objectives they pursue are attained in a coherent, sustainable, efficient and mutually supportive manner.

The VGGT Popular Version for Communal Land Administration was developed to support the Parliament of Namibia in delivering training to traditional authorities and regional institutions to enhance their capacity to administer communal land within their jurisdictions. This was carried out in line with the Communal Land Reform Act, Act 5 of 2002 and the resolutions of the 2nd National Land Conference. The Popular Version outlines 14 pertinent land governance issues in Namibia’s communal areas.

This policy brief was developed in order to enable a meaningful engagement and policy dialogue with government institutions and other relevant stakeholders about challenges and opportunities related to the recognition of customary tenure in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Customary tenure is understood to be the local rules, institutions and practices governing land, fisheries and forests that have, over time and use, gained social legitimacy and become embedded in the fabric of a society.

The Sustainable Development Goal 15 “Life on land” commits world leaders to work together to achieve land degradation neutrality (LDN) for safeguarding life on land. One of the objectives that comprise LDN is to reinforce responsible governance of land tenure. Land rights are a key factor for achieving LDN. This publication by the UNCCD CSO Panel aims to analyze and highlight the linkages between land rights and land degradation with the objective of offering policy recommendations to enhance land rights for both the prevention of land degradation and the recovery of degraded lands.

Land and property rights in Iraq are an important component of recovery, particularly subsequent to the ISIS conflict. The return of 3.3 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) due to the ISIS conflict are encountering claimants who were dislocated from 

previous wars and expropriations. This results in numerous land conflicts that if not dealt with will contribute to the country’s instability. Of primary importance in this regard is an ongoing discussion in government and the international community which