UNCCD and FAO are co-organizing the first webinar on responsible governance of land tenure as a vehicle to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), combat drought and desertification. The event is part of the Resilient Food Systems Programme (RFS) that encompasses a series of four webinars and discussion forums with 17 Sub-Saharan African countries.

Speakers from both organizations as well as the African Land Policy Centre, the Committee to Combat Drought in the Sahel, the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning in Kenya, and the Senegalese Agricultural Research Institute will discuss the importance of land tenure to address desertification, land degradation and drought in the Sub–Saharan Africa region. Several case studies from the region will be shared to facilitate the debate. Participants will include UNCCD national focal points, civil society representatives, project managers and technical advisors from FAO, RFS and the EU Land governance programs.

Responsible governance of land is a fundamental component of sustainable land management, important to addressing desertification, land degradation and drought, as acknowledged by the UNCCD Parties at COP14, which adopted a landmark decision on land tenure.

Today, the UNCCD is the only multilateral environmental agreement explicitly addressing the issue of land tenure. Following COP14, the UNCCD secretariat together with FAO are developing a technical guide on integrating the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of land, fisheries, and forests in the context of national food security into implementing LDN while achieving multiple co-benefits: food security, secure livelihoods and land-based jobs.

Building on the lessons from the RFS EU Land Governance Programme in Africa, the webinar series will support an increased understanding of the land degradation – land tenure nexus and provide feedback for the draft technical guide.

For more information, contact Ms. Aurelie Bres, Land and water officer, FAO (Aurelie.Bres [at] fao.org), or Yasmeen Telwala, Governance of tenure and land degradation, Consultant, FAO (Yasmeen.Telwala [at] fao.org) and Enni Kallio (ekallio [at] unccd.int) or Marcos Montoiro (mmontoiro [at] unccd.int) at the UNCCD secretariat.

Photo: Make Waves Media