The report -- the third in a series of analyses tracking the transition in statutory forest tenure since 2002 -- finds that not only has the recognition of local land rights slowed considerably since 2008, but the few land tenure laws that have been passed in the last six years are weaker and recognize fewer rights.
This slowdown is particularly sobering given the high hopes that recent international commitments and initiatives -- like the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and REDD+ -- could catalyze a new wave of recognition and defense of local forest land rights.
It is still early days for these commitments and we are optimistic that increased awareness of this global crisis and a better understanding of the benefits community rights to land can deliver will convince governments, the private sector, and international conservation and development organizations alike to become champions of tenure reform.Who owns the world’s forests, and who decides on their governance? The answers to these questions are still deeply contested.While governments are increasingly recognizing local ownership and control of forests, forest tenure arrangements remain in dispute or unclear in many places, including low, middle, and high income countries.