Despite the economic and social costs of national and international efforts to restore millions of hectares of deforested and degraded landscapes, results have not met expectations due to land tenure conflicts, land-use transformation, and top-down decision-making policies. Privatization of land, expansion of cattle raising, plantations, and urbanization have created an increasingly competitive land market, dispossessing local communities and threatening forest conservation and regeneration.

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests (Tenure Guidelines), we, organizations of small-scale food producers, Indigenous Peoples, workers, urban communities and civil society, underline the critical importance of land, fisheries and forests for achieving social, environmental, gender and intergenerational justice, and demand that States, the FAO and the entire UN system comply with their obligations to realize the right to land.

Land lies at the very foundation of our society and social life; it plays a central role in the livelihoods and cultural identities of communities across the globe, and contains the resources that underpin our now globalised world. However, partly because of this, it is often at the heart of social and political conflicts. Increasing demand for food, energy and other primary products is driving agribusinesses, mining companies and speculative investors in a quest for new land to acquire and exploit.

This paper presents case studies of two tribal villages - Mendha Lekha and Jamguda - successfully running forest-based bamboo businesses under the community forest rights provisions of Forest Rights Act (2006). We have documented the issues faced by the villagers in claiming community forest rights, issues faced in harvesting and sale of bamboo, and business practices adopted by both the villages.

Kwa zaidi ya miaka mitano, Mradi wa Usalama wa Umiliki wa Ardhi kwa Wanawake (WOLTS) umekuwa ukichunguza uhusiano wa kijinsia na ardhi katika jamii za wafugaji zilizoathiriwa na uchimbaji wa madini Mongolia na Tanzania. Lengo limekuwa ni kutengeneza mbinu ya ushiriki wa jamii kwa muda mrefu na kujenga uwezo wa kulinda na kusaidia haki za ardhi za watu wote walio katika mazingira magumu  na hivyo kuelekeza nguvu katika usawa wa kijinsia, usimamizi na umiliki wa ardhi kwa mfumo ambao utarahisisha maboresho katika haki za ardhi kwa jamii yote.

Depuis plus de cinq ans, le projet WOLTS (Women’s Land Tenure Security) étudie le croisement entre les relations de genre et de droits fonciers dans les communautés pastorales affectées par l’exploitation minière en Mongolie et en Tanzanie.

Los conflictos territoriales incluyen superposiciones de diferentes categorías territoriales otorgadas por el Estado en sus diferentes niveles y las tensiones entre vecinos (conflictos sociales), todos estos  representan "obstáculos para la titulación" o pueden limitar la futura gestión territorial de las comunidades nativas.

El equipo de la ONG Paz y Esperanza trabajó en estrecha colaboración con CODEPISAM, sus ocho federaciones y los presidentes de los miembros de las comunidades nativas, se hicieron visitas de campo en base a ella se actualizaron los datos y mapas.

Nous n'héritons pas de la terre de nos parents, nous l'empruntons à nos enfants. Cette conception de la relation de l'homme à la terre est encore plus prégnante dans les traditions africaines où "la terre appartient à une grande famille, dont beaucoup de membres sont morts, quelques-uns sont vivants et dont le plus grand nombre est encore à naître". Le phénomène d'acquisition massive des terres a pris ces dernières années, une ampleur effrayante.