After a four-year hiatus, the World Bank Land Conference took place again in Washington, D.C. this May, convening one thousand government, civil society, and land stakeholders in person and thousands more online. The theme of the 2024 conference was "Securing Land Tenure and Access for Climate Action," an exciting and meaningful frame for discussing an issue near to our hearts – open access to land information. 

Rapid response mechanisms (RRMs) are a new, proactive legal approach designed to provide legal and technical support to communities facing nascent conflicts related to land-based investments. RRMs provide preventative rather than reactive legal help the moment a conflict arises or community members’ rights are threatened, rather than trying to reverse rights violations once they have already occurred. 

Photo:  A train traveling through a lush green forest by Ally Griffin (Unsplash License).

By Alice Stevens & Anoukh de Soysa 

After a four-year hiatus, the World Bank Land Conference took place again in Washington, D.C. this May, convening one thousand government, civil society, and land stakeholders in person and thousands more online. The theme of the 2024 conference was "Securing Land Tenure and Access for Climate Action," an exciting and meaningful frame for discussing an issue near to our hearts – open access to land information. 

Achieving a transformation in behavior necessitates a more protracted timeline compared to structural and other transformative measures. Frequently, transformative endeavors commence with structural modifications, such as altering the organizational framework, renaming departments, or merging units. However, when aiming for behavioral transformation, it becomes crucial to unite people and entities through strategic project/s in which everyone has a vested interest. One exemplary initiative in this regard is the Gelephu Mindfulness City project that emanated from His Majesty the King.

Dr. Ritu Verma was a Board of Director of the Land Portal Foundation for two consecutive terms

It is with great happiness that I extend my warmest congratulations to the Land Portal on its 15^th Anniversary!

As the Land Portal celebrates a decade and half of ground-breaking and impactful work in the area of knowledge-sharing on land rights and struggles across the globe, it has a lot to be proud of.

Introduction

Imagine a world where every community has the data, information and knowledge it needs to make informed decisions about the land they call home. A world where the power of information is harnessed to hold leaders accountable for managing essential natural resources sustainably.

By Paolo Groppo, FAO (R) Territorial Development Officer, grandfather of the Land Portal

The Land Portal Foundation, in partnership with Transparency International, hosted the webinar titled "Breaking New Ground: Insights and Stories on the Impact of Land Corruption on Discriminated Groups in Africa." The webinar brought together a panel of distinguished experts to delve into the challenges and complexities of corruption intertwined with discrimination in land rights and governance. This session provided crucial insights through detailed case studies and expert analyses, offering pathways towards more equitable land management practices.

In last month’s News Digest, we posed a question:  

Members of the House of Chiefs discussing Zambia's National Land Policy at a meeting organised by Zambia Land Alliance (Photo: Jesinta Kunda, ZLA)