Regional Consultation Meeting on the “FAO Voluntary Guidelines for responsible governance of tenure of land and other natural resources”

7th FIG Regional Conference includes a two-day Regional Consultation Meeting on the “FAO Voluntary Guidelines for responsible governance of tenure of land and other natural resources” to be jointly organized with FAO Land Tenure and Management Unit (NRLA). Read about the purpose of the Consultation Meeting and see the programme of the consultation meeting. See the  technical programme as part of the regional conference.

General

Land and other natural resources provide the platform for food and shelter, economic production and a basis for social, cultural and religious practices. Rights of access are increasingly affected by climate change, violent conflicts and natural disasters, population growth and urbanization, and growing demands for land for agriculture and for new energy sources such as bio-energy. Responsible governance of tenure of land and other natural resources can help to reduce hunger and poverty and to support social and economic development. Weak governance hinders economic growth and sustainable use of the environment, condemns people to a life of hunger and poverty, and may result to loss of lives through violent conflicts. There is a growing and widespread interest for a response in a form of an international instrument that can be adopted and implemented by countries.

In response, FAO has embarked to develop voluntary guidelines for responsible governance of tenure of land and other natural resources prepared jointly by governments, civil society, private sector and international organizations and approved by FAO’s member nations. The Voluntary Guidelines will provide practical guidance on responsible governance of tenure as a means of responding to the global challenges of our time. They will be consistent with the wide range of international instruments adopting a rights based approach and being a further elaboration on the Voluntary guidelines to support the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security. The Voluntary Guidelines will build on FAO’s long work in improving secure access to land and other natural resources, including convening the 2006 International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ICARRD).

The Voluntary Guidelines are intended to provide practical guidance to States, civil society and the private sector on responsible governance of tenure as a means of alleviating hunger and poverty, enhancing the environment, supporting national and local economic development, and reforming public administration. The principles and strategic actions identified in the Voluntary Guidelines will provide practical guidance to States, civil society and the private sector on improving governance of tenure. Upon the adoption of the Voluntary Guidelines FAO and partners will support their implementation through national action plans and through the Organization’s extensive partnership networks and related project activities. The Voluntary Guidelines will be drawn upon in a multi-stakeholder discussion including the following consultations: regional consultation meetings, civil society workshops, Expert Group Meetings and electronic discussion. Thereafter the draft Voluntary Guidelines will be passed on to FAO’s governing bodies for member country review and adoption.

The regional consultation meeting for the Asian regional will be held in Hanoi, Vietnam as part of the 7th FIG Regional Conference. The regional consultation meeting will be FAO led multi-party initiative aimed at bringing together groups that are regionally representative (public sector, private sector, civil society, indigenous groups ...) and multidisciplinary (academics, professionals, policy makers familiar with the tenure of land, forestry, fisheries, water ...). The meetings will asses regional priorities for the Voluntary Guidelines on governance of tenure. They will provide important feedback on the content of the Voluntary Guidelines and their eventual implementation.

Preliminary programme for the FAO Regional Consultation Meeting