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Global warming, climate change, desertification, land degradation and drought are amongst the most significant issues of our time. These are the problems that threaten not only the environment, but also our economy, security, development, food supply and social life. As the population increases day by day, the question of how to meet the unprecedented food and water demand with the limited,…

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development embodies the bold and global ambition to shift the world to a more sustainable and resilient trajectory. The target of achieving a land degradation-neutral world is a centrepiece of this agenda. Hundred countries have already committed to translating the global Land Degradation Neutrality target into country-specific targets and actions. Actions that…

Tenure arrangements determine how people, communities and organizations gain access to, and use, natural resources, and are gaining increasing attention and recognition as part of efforts towards sustainable, equitable and efficient use of natural resources. Yet, there is little literature available on the concept of water tenure. The purpose of this paper is to examine the notion of tenure in…

SIXTIETH SESSION (2016) The sixtieth session of the Commission will take place from 14 to 24 March 2016. The Commission will address as its priority theme ‘Women’s empowerment and its link to sustainable development’. In addition, it will evaluate progress in the implementation of the agreed conclusions from the fifty-seventh session (2013) on ‘The elimination and prevention of all forms of…

As World leaders forged two new big deals in late 2015 – the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Climate Change Agreements – over 200 experts and technical officers working in fields related to land and water management, participated in the 3rd Land and Water Days held at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Headquarters in Rome, from 10 to 12 November 2015…

The eradication of hunger and poverty largely depend on how people, communities and others gain access to land. The livelihoods of many, particularly the rural poor including women, are based on secure and equitable access to and control over land and other natural resources. Land is a source of food and shelter; the basis for social, cultural and religious practices; and a central factor in…