Civil society groups call for land tenure rights to be prioritised in donor funding
In a joint statement, the organisations said inadequate and increasingly constrained public and private funding for rights-based land tenure initiatives was undermining efforts to secure land, livelihoods and territories for vulnerable communities
KAMPALA, August 17, 2026 — A coalition of 24 global civil society and people’s organisations has called on donors to make land tenure security a central priority in funding for climate action, biodiversity conservation, food systems, livelihoods, peacebuilding and development.
In a joint statement, the organisations said inadequate and increasingly constrained public and private funding for rights-based land tenure initiatives was undermining efforts to secure land, livelihoods and territories for vulnerable communities.
The organisations said secure land tenure was a foundation for addressing several global development challenges, warning that investments in climate action, ecosystem restoration, food systems and rural development could reinforce exclusion, dispossession and inequality if land rights were overlooked.
“Secure land tenure is increasingly recognised as foundational to priorities shared by donors and countries,” the organisations said, citing climate action, social equity, food security and sovereignty, biodiversity conservation, decent jobs and livelihoods, peacebuilding and reduced forced migration.
The coalition brings together organisations including Oxfam, the International Institute for Environment and Development [IIED], Forest Peoples Programme [FPP], Landesa, Namati, Trócaire, We Effect Swedish Cooperative Centre, the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements [IFOAM] and the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs [IWGIA].
The groups said grassroots organisations, rural women and youth, Indigenous Peoples, smallholder farmers, pastoralists, fisherfolk, forest communities and landless people continue to face barriers to accessing sustained and long-term funding needed to protect their land rights and livelihoods.
They noted that although land and tenure rights have gained greater recognition in international policy frameworks and climate and biodiversity processes, this progress has not translated into equitable and accountable funding systems.
According to the organisations, 71 countries, representing about 36 per cent globally, have undertaken land tenure reforms since the approval of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests [VGGTs], with 27 of those countries explicitly referencing the guidelines.
However, the groups said funding continues to exclude or inadequately reach smallholder farmers, pastoralists, Indigenous Peoples, landless people and other local rights-holders.
They also criticised funding systems for being fragmented, short-term and heavily intermediated, saying this limits direct access to resources for grassroots organisations and often leaves gender equality and social justice as secondary considerations.
The organisations further raised concerns over inadequate transparency and monitoring of land-related investments.
Citing the FAO Status of Land Tenure and Governance report, they said most countries report on only between five and 20 per cent of the variables used to monitor the principles of the VGGTs in land investments.
The coalition said limited open data and opaque reporting systems were making it difficult to assess whether donor commitments were translating into tangible support for communities.
The groups also warned against expanding private-sector-led development, blended finance, carbon markets and biodiversity offsets without adequate safeguards for land rights.
They said land rights should be treated as a non-negotiable foundation for such investments to prevent dispossession, conflict and marginalisation, particularly where communities depend on collective and customary tenure systems.
Three priorities identified
The organisations called on multilateral, bilateral, philanthropic and private-sector actors to undertake three key reforms to donor funding systems.
First, they want land tenure to be recognised as foundational to climate, biodiversity, food systems, livelihoods and inclusive development.
They urged donors and governments to integrate land tenure considerations into Nationally Determined Contributions, National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, National Adaptation Plans and other national development strategies.
The organisations also called for new, additional, adequate and predictable financing for rights-based land tenure, including, where appropriate, through the repurposing of environmentally harmful subsidies.
Second, they called for direct, flexible and long-term funding for community-led land initiatives.
The groups want donors to expand direct access to funding for grassroots organisations, women and youth, Indigenous Peoples, pastoralists, fisherfolk, forest communities and other rights-holders, while reducing unnecessary layers of intermediaries.
They also called for existing community land funds, territorial funds and Indigenous Peoples’ financing mechanisms to be expanded and replicated.
Third, the coalition called for greater transparency, monitoring and accountability in land tenure funding.
It urged donors to publicly report funding allocations, timelines and recipients, while establishing indicators to track the impact of funding on tenure security, gender equality, conflict prevention and community participation.
“Effective monitoring is essential to rebuild trust, enable learning, and ensure that global pledges translate into tangible community support,” the organisations said.
The coalition acknowledged that some donors have already introduced direct funding mechanisms, territorial funds and community-led initiatives, saying these approaches demonstrate that more inclusive and rights-based funding is possible.
It called for such approaches to be scaled up and institutionalised, with land and tenure security treated not as a peripheral issue but as a strategic investment in lasting climate, biodiversity, food security and development outcomes.
https://thecooperator.news/land-fragmentation-and-land-conflicts-causing-food-insecurity-in-nebbi/
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