High-Level Political Will, National Commitments, and a Campaign for Global Progress
On May 6, 2025, land tenure and governance took center stage at the World Bank Land Conference in Washington D.C., with the high-level plenary session “Global Land Governance and Tenure: A Call to Action.” This session convened an influential coalition of global actors—government ministers, technical experts, and civil society leaders—to spotlight how securing land rights can accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 1.4.2 on land tenure.
Framed by the launch of the Global Action for Land (GAL), the session was a powerful call for political leadership and shared accountability. GAL is not a new institution but an open campaign to unite governments, civil society, Indigenous Peoples, youth, and development partners around a common goal: land tenure for all.
The Challenge: Tenure Insecurity and Development Gaps
Ming Zhang, Global Director for Urban, Resilience and Land at the World Bank, opened with a stark reality: less than one-third of the world’s population has documented land rights. The perception of tenure insecurity has climbed sharply—from 19% in 2020 to 23% in 2024.
“Secure land tenure and good governance are not luxuries—they’re prerequisites for economic development, climate resilience, and social justice,” said Zhang. “This is why the World Bank has invested $2.9 billion across 31 countries to map and register land rights, including for women and vulnerable groups.”
Making the Case for GAL: A Campaign for Inclusion, Accountability, and Action
Ward Anseeuw, Land Tenure Lead at FAO, provided compelling data from the Global Land Observatory and made the case for GAL as a unifying campaign to elevate land governance globally.
“We’ve seen a 90% increase in SDG 1.4.2 reporting in the past year, and 60% of African countries are now engaged in substantial land reform,” Anseeuw reported. “The Global Action for Land is not about adding more bureaucracy—it’s about mobilizing across silos to deliver tenure security as a pillar of climate, food, and biodiversity goals.”
Yet he cautioned that significant gaps remain. While 42% of land worldwide is documented, only 8% of Indigenous and community land is legally recognized, and public lands—representing 61% of global territory—are largely undocumented and poorly governed.
National Champions: Country-Led Reform at Scale
Charnley introduced a lineup of national leaders driving forward ambitious land governance reforms. Their interventions demonstrated diverse strategies, from digital innovation and legal reform to community-based adjudication and gender inclusion.
Tanzania – Land Certification and Gender Reform
Minister Deogratius Ndejembi explained how Tanzania has certified over 600,000 land parcels, aiming for full coverage by 2030. The recent revision of the 1995 Land Policy removed discriminatory customary provisions and enabled joint spousal titling.
“We’ve seen a change. Women can now inherit land. Spouses hold land together. And our president, Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, has made women’s rights central to our land agenda,” said Ndejembi.
India – Drone Mapping at Unprecedented Scale
Secretary Vivek Bharadwaj described India’s SVAMITVA scheme, which has mapped 100 million parcels using drones and issued 23 million titles across 300,000 villages.
“Land monetization has real impacts,” said Bharadwaj. “One farmer took a loan on his titled land, bought more cattle, and increased his income by 15,000 rupees a month. That’s the power of secure land.”
Brazil – Rebuilding Land Institutions
Gustavo Souto de Noronha of INCRA detailed Brazil’s post-crisis effort to revive agrarian reform. Since 2023, the government has integrated 125,000 families into the program, including 40,000 in riverine and Indigenous communities.
“We are moving from destruction to reconstruction. Land reform is back—with transparency, dialogue, and a budget to match,” he affirmed.
Côte d’Ivoire – Formalizing Rights and Resolving Conflict
Cheick Daniel Bamba, Director General of AFOR, reflected on Côte d’Ivoire’s transformation from land conflict to land security through decentralized registration, customary recognition, and inclusive adjudication.
“We had to act to avoid national collapse,” said Bamba. “We moved from 3,000 to over 60,000 certificates. Now we are targeting 500,000. And with awareness campaigns, women now hold 30% of titles—up from just 3%.”
Laos – Securing Tenure in Forest Areas
Leevameng Leebouapao outlined Laos’ complex challenge of regularizing tenure for over 3,000 villages within designated state forests. With support from international partners, Laos has piloted innovative tenure types—including time-bound use certificates and forest co-management contracts.
“Forest and people must coexist,” he said. “We now have regulations, technical guidelines, and a national action plan to implement tenure security while preserving 70% forest cover.”
New Commitments: Paraguay and Nigeria Step Up
Lourdes González of Paraguay’s Supreme Court shared news of the 2025 passage of a new law creating a National Unified Land Registry.
“We’re integrating judicial and executive systems, removing silos, and creating a single platform for all land assets,” González said. “This has already received cross-party support and will reduce costs, delays, and tenure insecurity.”
Alabi Collins Olushina from Nigeria’s Ministry of Housing and Development shared the country’s new National Titling Strategy, born out of the 2024 Land Conference.
“We’ve identified $300 billion in untapped land assets,” he said. “We are working with all 36 states to develop harmonized documentation systems, guided by pilot projects and lessons from global peers.”
A Call to Act—and to Align
Marcy Vigoda, newly appointed Director of the International Land Coalition, closed the session by urging participants to sustain momentum and scale ambition.
“We are seeing political will, country-led innovation, and cross-sectoral alignment,” she said. “Let’s continue to use platforms like GAL to bridge gaps, align agendas, and deliver justice through land.”
Guiding the Conversation: Moderator Maggie Charnley
The session was expertly moderated by Maggie Charnley, Head of the UK Government’s International Forests Unit, directing a joint team at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). Charnley anchored the panel with clarity and dynamism, skillfully navigating technical depth and political insight while highlighting the interconnected nature of land, climate, gender, and inclusive governance.
“This panel reinforced how land tenure is critical not just for peace and livelihoods, but for water, forests, food security, and the wellbeing of future generations,” Charnley noted in her closing remarks. “And the courage and creativity of these speakers shows us the human engine behind policy reform.”
Conclusion: From Commitment to Action
“Global Land Governance and Tenure: A Call to Action” was more than a title—it was a lived expression of purpose. With countries reforming laws, deploying technology, dismantling gender barriers, and recognizing customary rights, a global movement is taking shape.
The Global Action for Land provides the connective tissue—linking efforts from Paraguay to Laos, from Tanzania to Brazil—into a shared campaign. It is a space for shared learning, for holding ourselves accountable, and for ensuring that land governance is no longer an afterthought but a foundation.
If the session made anything clear, it is this: the age of fragmented reform is over. The era of unified, inclusive, and courageous action for land has begun.
