The Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) adopted a decision on land tenure in 2019, requesting stakeholders to explore options on how to increase knowledge on responsible governance of tenure as a way to achieve land degradation neutrality. In 2022, the Global Land Outlook, a biennial publication of the UNCCD that assesses the global state of land, identified the need to probe the links between tenure and restoration as a strategy for land degradation neutrality. This article establishes the connection between tenure and restoration by going beyond mere narratives. Using simple diagrammatic and mathematical illustrations, it shows how tenure rights (influenced by land tenure) can enable restoration activities to contribute to land degradation neutrality. Policymakers, academics, and professionals who struggle with achieving land restoration through land tenure practices will find this article helpful for their work.

This paper was motivated by discussions from the author's presentation at an online Conference, “Restoration and the Social Context,” hosted by the UNCCD, Azim Premji University (Bengaluru, India) and the G20 Global Land Initiative.

Uchendu Eugene CHIGBU is Associate Professor in Land Administration. His works fall within the interface between Social Sciences and Geodesy. He is an Associate Editor of the Journal Land Use Policy. He is a co-Chair of the Research Cluster of the Global Land Tool Network (UN-Habitat). He is also the Coordinator of the Network of Excellence on Land Governance in Africa (NELGA) in the Southern African Region. He has particular interest on applying land methods to societal development issues. His most recent book, “Land Governance and Gender: The Tenure-Gender Nexus in Land Management and Land Policy” was published in 2022.