India Land and Development Conference, ILDC is back with its eighth episode at the picturesque FLAME University in Pune this week. It has been quite a journey for this collaborative convening. Despite its 8th edition, it has emerged as a globally recognized land convergence event, drawing attention from far and near. 

Just thinking of a conference on a topic like ‘Land’, in a country like India, is in itself a big challenge, forget organizing it year after year, for eight years - setting a stature that has grown every year!  

My heart aches for all those who have lost their loved ones from the tragedy facing Kenya today as the death toll nears 100. Heavy rains have lashed Kenya in recent weeks, causing widespread flooding that has displaced thousands, destroyed infrastructure, and devastated livelihoods. In the interest of student and staff well-being, the Ministry of Education has announced a delay in school re-opening. While these seasonal floods are not uncommon, the severity of this year's event highlights a crucial issue: our relationship with land.

Climate change poses an existential threat to ecosystems, with potentially far-reaching impacts on agriculture, forestry, wind and solar energy, and other land-based investments. These investments can also further exacerbate detrimental climate change impacts if they are not sustainably implemented. 

As part of a scoping study titled Land Governance for Climate Resilience: A review and case studies from LAND-at-scale projects headed by Richard Sliuzas, Emeritus Professor, University of Twente, GLTN dove into the links between climate and land governance in the ‘’Scaling up community-based land registration and land use planning on customary land in Uganda’’ project. This case study highlights experiences from the community-based wetland management planning approach in Butaleja, Uganda, focusing on how the approach is addressing land governance issues and contributing to community climate resilience.

As part of a scoping study titled Land Governance for Climate Resilience: A review and case studies from LAND-at-scale projects headed by Richard Sliuzas, Emeritus Professor, University of Twente, CTV explored the links between climate and land governance in the LAND-at-scale project “Scaling Community Legal Literacy, Land Rights Certification and Climate Resilience in Mozambique”. This case study focusses on experiences from the Búzi District, where Cyclone Idai (March 2019) showed the need for proactive interventions in the land sector aimed at preparing districts and local communities to face and plan for severe climatic phenomena and their impacts, but also the challenges at making this link explicit. 

What I learned about land rights from people who don't work in land rights

How a land surveyor in a rural Land Office in Colombia has overcome challenges to find herself in a career dominated by men.

Odgerel describes the changes he is making to tackle land degradation in his herding community since becoming a gender and land champion.

P. Purevdolgor describes the impact of becoming a gender and land champion in her Mongolian herding community.

Building solutions for long-term sustainable livelihoods in urban contexts

Co-organized by FAO, UNCCD, TMG and the Land Portal, this side event specifically aimed to discuss how integrating the VGGT into land degradation neutrality (LDN) initiatives can re-ignite momentum to enhance tenure security and unlock multiple social, economic and environmental benefits. 

This data story investigates the challenges to align action on land degradation and tenure security based on the screening of available datasets in both domains.