The Land Portal Annual Report 2024 celebrates 15 years of championing open, inclusive, and data-driven land governance. In 2024, the platform launched the State of Land Information Index (SOLIndex), expanded global partnerships, and spotlighted community voices through new initiatives like the Open Data Champions and NELGA Guest Writers. With a strong focus on the Global South, the Land Portal continues to empower decision-making through curated knowledge and digital advocacy.

The land that became Jordan is part of the richly historical Fertile Crescent region.  Its

Jordan is one of the world's most water-deficit countries with only about 4% of the total land area considered arable. As a consequence agricultural production is greatly constrained by limited natural resources. Therefore, a major challenge for the country is to promote the sustainable use of natural resources for agricultural purposes. This challenge is being made harder by the ongoing processes of degradation due to increased population pressure, which undermine any social and economic development gains.

The nineteenth century was an era that great centralization and codification attempts were realized in the Ottoman Empire. One of these attempts was the Ottoman Land Code of 1858, which put various land regulations throughout the empire into a standard code. But this standard Code gave different results when applied to different regions which had their own characteristic features. Eastern Anatolia, which had an autonomous position since its incorporation to the Ottoman Empire, was also in the scope of the Land Code.

The subject of ownership rights is of great importance in every country, as it affects in many ways the lives of people from different backgrounds. However, the most effected group could be the poor. In many countries, the poor depend on their land to sustain their livelihood; hence, the issue of ownership rights is of significant importance for them and for their economic performance.  

This current publication includes a summary of the findings of those assessment studies. Some of the information has been updated to keep up with the new developments at the national and global levels but the recommendations and conclusion have been maintained and also used in current project activities. 

The Jordanian land cover database and atlas were developed under the Regional Food Security Analysis Network (RFSAN) project. The main objective of the project is to increase and improve provision of goods and services from agriculture, forestry and fisheries in a sustainable manner as well as to increase the understanding of the bio-physical conditions of land in Jordan. 

This study examines natural resource governance in light of the 2030 Agenda. Groundwater abstraction in Azraq, Jordan serves as the case study for this endeavour. A milestone for global sustainable development, the 2030 Agenda sets out 17 broad Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 specific targets. It foresees integrated implementation that requires mobilising synergies and mitigating trade-offs between economic, social and ecological goals (Breuer, Janetschek, & Malerba, 2019).

Access to legal identity and civil documentation – such as the documentation

Land is one of the most valuable assets in Jordan. Rapid population increase, uncontrolled urban sprawl, land degradation and desertification, changes in consumption patterns, and the additional pressure caused by the influx of refugees have strained Jordan’s land resources, including water, pastures, and ecosystems. These factors have also impacted the sustainable use of land for economic development and access to affordable housing and public services.