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The Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries, and Forests in the Context of National Food Security is an internationally negotiated document by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) under the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO). The negotiations, chaired by the United States, occurred over a nine month period and involved 96 member countries and over 30 civil society organizations. The document was adopted by the CFS in May 2012; attention will now shift to implementation of the guidelines.

National policies and customs on tenure vary widely from country to country, even between countries in the same region. The Voluntary Guidelines provide a framework for countries to use in the establishment of laws and policies, strategies, and programs which clarify and secure tenure rights. It accommodates for many differing viewpoints on ‘Best Practices’ and introduces a broad range of structures that can be relevant in all parts of the world.

The final (adopted) draft of the Voluntary Guidelines is now available from the FAO website in the following languages:

English I español I français I русский I العربية I 中国的

Released May 2012: Voluntary Guidelines At A Glance (PDF, 234kb)

PRESS RELEASE, October 19, 2011

ROME – The United States government commends the United Nations Committee on Food Security (CFS) for the extraordinary work that it has done on the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Lands, Fisheries and Forests, achieving consensus on approximately seventy percent of the document during the July and October negotiations.

The U.S. government has dedicated substantial resources to the negotiation process and remains committed to completing Guidelines that will provide safeguards that protect the property rights of the vulnerable and marginalized, including indigenous people and women. The United States has been pleased to Chair these CFS-led Intergovernmental negotiations.

These Guidelines will establish an international framework to improve land governance, which will strengthen property rights, support transparent procedures for land allocation, and promote accessibility and accountability of land administration agencies.

Recent reports like the World Bank’s Rising Global Interest in Farmland, and Oxfam’s Land and Power, and stories in the press shed light on the phenomenon of large-scale land acquisitions, which are sometimes referred to as ‘land grabbing’, particularly in Africa. We recognize the concerns with some of the land investments that have taken place in recent years.

“We believe that weak land governance is at the heart of the ‘land grabbing’ phenomenon and that improving land governance is central to addressing it,” said Ertharin Cousin, the United States Representative to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organizations in Rome.

The U.S. government recognizes the need to ensure that safeguards are in place as investment in agriculture is necessarily expanded in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals and increase food security. These Guidelines will help governments attract responsible investment and put in place strong governance systems to prevent ‘land grabbing’. The Guidelines create a framework that will encourage small-holders to invest in their own farms and move towards food security.

Around the world, the U.S. government is actively supporting improvements in land governance that strengthen the property rights of local people and communities, and improve the capacity of land administration agencies to provide necessary services.

The U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has committed over $250m in funding for land governance projects in 11 partner countries, and USAID in the past three years has funded $200m in land tenure programming in 30 countries around the world. Both anticipate making increased investments in this area over the coming years.

These programs are already working on the ground to put in place the principles of responsible land governance that are at the heart of the Voluntary Guidelines.

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Contact:
Michelle Los Banos-Jardina, Public Affairs Officer
Tel: +39-06-4674-3521, Cell: +39-335-549-1567
E-mail: losbanos-jardinamg@state.gov

Ann Wise, Public Affairs Program Assistant
Tel: +39-06-4674-3538, Cell: +39-334-654-6387
E-mail: wiseag@state.gov

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The Property Rights and Artisanal Diamond Development (PRADD) Liberia project is a USAID-funded intervention to clarify property rights and extend training and outreach to small-scale diamond miners in two areas in Liberia. For the purposes of an impact evaluation following the conclusion of the project, a baseline survey of 826 artisanal diamond mining households in four areas of the country was conducted prior to the start of project implementation in January-February 2011. The survey includes a total of 144 questions, with sections covering household demographic information and economic activity, mining activities, conflicts and security, policy awareness and perceptions, household assets, and opinions on mining-related issues. The survey covered the two areas in which PRADD-Liberia activities will take place, as well as two additional sites designed to serve as control areas to form the basis for a comparison between outcomes in project and non- project areas.

The results show that in most cases, artisanal diamond mining is not a lucrative endeavor. Mining households in the study area tend to be poor, with an annual per capita income of US$ 329. On average, each mining claim yielded $1,335 during the 2010 mining season, with only 5.4 percent of mining claims yielding revenues in excess of $5,000.

Most miners do not hold valid mining licenses for their claims. Nonetheless, miners subjectively attach a high degree of importance to having a license, as 98 percent said that having a license was “very important.” The reasons given most often were to prevent loss of the claims, avoid conflicts with the police and government, and avoid conflicts with other miners.

Familiarity with the Kimberley Process (KP) was very limited among the miners. Over half had never heard of the KP. Only 7 percent were able to correctly answer four questions on the provisions of the KP. The results suggest there is substantial scope for expanding awareness of the KP in the PRADD project area.

The survey results indicate that conflicts over mining claims are common in the study area, with 18.6 percent of miners reporting having had at least one conflict related to their claims. The most common source of conflict is over the boundaries of claims, which accounted for 44.2 percent of the observed conflicts. Disputes between local miners over who has rights to a particular claim were also common, while disputes with outsiders and disputes related to prospecting each accounted for 10.5 percent of the total conflicts. Miners also show significant concern about future conflicts, as 39.9 percent say they are “very worried” that they could have conflicts in the future.

Our analytical econometric results suggest that there are no substantial differences between the prices that miners receive given the quality of the diamonds. Thus, it does not appear to be the case that some miners are able to get better prices than others. However, diamond revenues are substantially higher for miners who sell to licensed brokers and register their diamonds with the Government Diamond Office (GDO).

Remarks by Gregory Myers, during negotiations for the Voluntary Guidelines for Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries, and Forests on March 8, 2012

Ministers, Excellencies, honorable representatives of member countries, civil society participants and guests: This morning we begin our session with recognition of International Women’s Day.

Each year the United Nations declares an International Women’s Day theme. This year, the theme is “Empower Rural Women – End Hunger and Poverty.”

Perhaps this is a sign of growing recognition of what we already know—that the work we are engaged in this week is extremely relevant to the lives of people around the world. The conclusion of these negotiations of the Voluntary Guidelines will produce a document that provides a framework for countries to develop laws and policies to be used in the context of national food security.

The statistics supporting this are numerous:

– The FAO estimates that women produce over 50% of all food grown worldwide. In developing countries, women produce 60%–80% of the food grown, yet own less than 2% of the land.

– The recent State of Food and Agriculture report found that giving women the same access to agricultural resources as men could increase production on women’s farms in developing countries by 20 to 30 percent – enough to feed up to 150 million more of the world’s hungry.

– FAO Deputy Director General Tutwiler has stated, “Female farmers produce less than male farmers because they do not have access to seeds, tools, fertilizer and credit, not because women are worse farmers.”

Many people in the world lack secure tenure rights and access to adequate resources; however, we know that women face more and greater obstacles in accessing and obtaining rights to resources than men do. In many instances, women’s rights come though marriage and are not secure. A divorced or widowed woman is likely to lose her tenure rights, yet still carry the responsibility to provide for her family. Without secure tenure rights, she and her children are less likely to have food security, and more likely to live in poverty. Conversely, the World Bank has stated that reducing gender inequality leads to reductions in infant and child mortality, improvements in nutrition, and increased economic productivity.

In support of combating the tenure rights issues faced by women, we have appropriately named human dignity, non-discrimination, equity and justice, and gender equality as essential principles of implementation in Section 3B of these Voluntary Guidelines. These guidelines, once adopted, will clarify issues of tenure rights and impact the lives of women around the world. We hope they will accelerate the efforts that many cooperation assistance organizations are already making to address gender inequality with regards to tenure, as demonstrated by the slideshow that has been playing on the screen.

In closing, I’d like us all to take a moment to acknowledge the many contributions women make every day in tackling these issues and in advancing development globally. I can think of no better way to honor women and their work than by continuing these negotiations and coming to consensus this week on a document to be sent to the CFS for adoption.

Thank you.

Update on Land Administration and Policies in Asia/Pacific

Earlier this month, the Parliament in Timor Leste passed three laws related to property rights. The new measures, which now await signature by the President, are expected to provide a foundation for resolving disputes and registering land; prescribe procedures under which the Government can expropriate land; and create a fund to compensate property owners who lose their property rights. These new laws will have a large impact on economic growth, which stalled when the Indonesian occupation ended and civil war ripped the country apart.

The new legislation is a significant accomplishment that USAID and other bi-lateral donors have supported over the long term. Since 2007, USAID has invested $10 million in supporting the Strengthening Property Rights in Timor Leste (SPRTL) project. This project addressed serious concerns related to land-based conflict raised in a 2006 Conflict Vulnerability Assessment. The project’s main objectives included:

• Promoting public information and awareness of rights related to land and the process of registering claims to land in Timor-Leste;
• Supporting the development of a land policy, laws, and implementing regulations;
• Supporting the development of a national land body in Timor-Leste;
• Supporting improved land administration in Timor-Leste; and,
• Supporting effective dispute resolution, mediation and reconciliation efforts in Timor-Leste.

Given the substantial delay in passing a new Land Law, the project adopted a flexible approach, and also created an alternate process for registering and mediating property claims. This process – known as “Ita Nia Rai” or “Our Land” – operated independently and successfully for several years but now has been adopted by Timor Leste’s Ministry of Finance. As of October 2011, 53,814 land claims had been recorded for 50,101 parcels of land, in a claims process that is free of charge to participants and decentralized. Of the 53,814 claims, only 9.2 percent are disputed.

Additionally, Ita Nia Rai reached over 12,000 Timorese with public awareness activities including community forums, focus group discussions, workshops/seminars, and annual forums to explain the land claims process. The project also developed 16 descriptive videos; nine are available on YouTube. These efforts have helped inform the Timorese public of opportunities that exist under Ita Nia Rai to bring claims to property and thereby strengthen their property rights.