Smallholders need secure land tenure to ensure investments in ecosystem restoration and food security and land-based adaptation options for millions of people around the world. As the global community scrambles to address multiple crises, responsible land governance is more urgent than ever before.

In this context, TMG Research and its partners have developed a human rights-based approach to land governance monitoring, including a reference tool called the Human Rights and Land Navigator, which they will launch during this side event session. The online tool aims to make the UN-backed Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries, and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT) more tangible by detailing the human rights on which they are based.

During the session, UNCCD stakeholders and human rights actors discussed the potential of the international human rights system and the new tool to enhance the implementation of the VGGT and safeguard legitimate tenure rights for ecosystem restoration. The event provided practical entry points for land rights defenders, national-level policymakers and human rights bodies to advocate for and monitor progress on land governance instruments.

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During this session, we learned how land degradation neutrality relates to land tenure security and why tenure security is important to combat the further degradation of land. We learned how land tenure security is embedded in a wider spectrum of human rights and what is needed to secure these multiple rights for those living on and from the land. We learned from local, regional and global actors, what instruments they use to align legal frameworks with local realities, and what it takes to bridge formal legislation with informal realities on the ground. Finally, we discussed the pros and cons of multi-stakeholder dialogue, which is increasingly seen as an instrument to bridge the two and help strengthen land tenure security for all.

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Young Africans have strong visions for their land: their stories of restoring landscapes are also stories of young people defining their own narratives of a good life and creating multiple, contradictory and coexisting futures across the continent. In this short session co-created by the World Agroforestry Center, the Global Landscapes Forum and the Youth in Landscapes Initiative  young Kenyan restoration practitioner Adrian Leitoro shared his thoughts and experiences, focusing on the importance of healthy landscapes for climate adaptation and food sovereignty in Africa.

People living in drylands and areas affected by degradation are amongst the most vulnerable to climate change impacts. To protect their livelihoods, it is crucial to take measures to avoid, reduce, and reverse land degradation as well as ensure the security of their land tenure, as was recognized and highlighted at UNCCD COP14 in 2019 through the COP14/26 decision on land tenure.

This side event hosted by the TMG Think Tank for Sustainability outlined progress made by Parties to the Convention since COP14 on aligning national land degradation neutrality plans with the COP14/26 decision and highlighted opportunities to further scale up existing efforts. It also addressed the importance of land tenure for land-based adaptation and responses to drought.

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