Empowering millions of women and men with a powerful tool they can use to improve their lives:

LAND RIGHTS

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WHY DO LAND RIGHTS MATTER?

Around the world, people experiencing poverty often share three traits: they live in rural areas, rely on agriculture and forests to survive, and don’t have legal control over the land on which they depend. We offer the tools to help people lift themselves out of poverty. Stronger rights to land have the power to reduce poverty and conflict, increase economic activity, empower women, strengthen food security, and improve environmental stewardship — for an individual, a family, a community, and an entire country.

WHO WE ARE

ENGAGE

Landesa partners with progressive governments and civil society to develop pro-poor and gender-sensitive laws, policies, and programs that strengthen land rights for people experiencing extreme poverty. In Africa and Asia, our land rights experts work shoulder to shoulder with government officials, local leaders, and rural residents developing scalable, practical, and innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems – food insecurity, conflict, climate change, women’s lack of empowerment.
WHAT WE DO

EXPLORE

Strong, legal rights to land can provide people in rural areas with the opportunity, security, and incentive they need to invest in their land to improve their harvests and their lives. Learn more about the connection between land rights and the most significant challenges of our time, from nutrition to climate change, from inclusive economic development to gender equality.
RESOURCES

JOIN

In an era defined by concerns over food security, environmental sustainability, stubborn cycles of poverty, and conflict over land, strong land rights are critical. Landesa champions the power of land rights for people and communities in rural areas as a fundamental building block for a safer and more prosperous future. Join the global land rights movement—make your gift to Landesa today.
GIVE

RECENT NEWS

What's New

Stakeholders complement govt efforts in equipping women on land ownership

July 12, 2024

Khadija Mrisho, Landesa Tanzania land tenure specialist and lead coordinator of S4HL Tanzania, ...

Read More
What's New

Ground Realities: Making land work for renewable energy

July 04, 2024

IDR — Senior Land Tenure Advisor Pinaki Halder explores the challenges and strategies for responsibly acquiring and using land in India to meet the country's renewable energy goals, while addressing the social and environmental impacts.

Read More
What's New

Staff Spotlight: Sangha Toeu

July 02, 2024

Meet Sangha Toeu, Landesa’s ICLT project officer for the northeast of Cambodia, specifically in Ratanakiri Province. Sangha began working for Landesa in January 2024.

Read More
What's New

In Mufindi, where widows struggle to get land rights

June 25, 2024

THE GUARDIAN TANZANIA — Landesa Outreach Director-Africa Dr. Monica Magoke-Mhoja explains that widows in Tanzania often encounter severe inequality when it comes to land ownership, which has profoundly far-reaching effects on various aspects of their lives.

Read More
What's New

Preparing for the Summit of the Future

June 11, 2024

The 2024 UN Civil Society Conference was an inspiring opportunity to facilitate global dialogue among INGOs and CSOs, and we look forward to continuing to advocate for secure land rights at the Summit of the Future this fall.

Read More
What's New

Staff Spotlight: My-Lan Dodd

June 10, 2024

Meet My-Lan Dodd, Landesa’s Attorney & Sr. Land Tenure Specialist, Gender based in Seattle, Washington. My-Lan started working for Landesa in 2008 and re-joined our team in 2011.

Read More
Featured image for “To Safeguard Africa’s Forests, Protect Local Land Rights”

To Safeguard Africa’s Forests, Protect Local Land Rights

‍Africa’s forests and natural areas are an indispensable collective resource. Capably stewarded by the communities that have called these areas home for centuries, these forests can continue to ensure livelihoods while serving as a bulwark against climate change.
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Featured image for “The Right to Steward: Protecting People and Planet in Asia’s Mangrove Forests”

The Right to Steward: Protecting People and Planet in Asia’s Mangrove Forests

The lives of Chumpou Khmao’s residents are woven into the roots of their mangrove forests. With the support necessary to gain secure rights, they can steward their forests to flourish for generations.
Read More
Featured image for “Nature-based carbon offsetting project incentives: An unintended form of social harm?”

Nature-based carbon offsetting project incentives: An unintended form of social harm?

Nature-based emission-reduction projects must ensure that their benefit sharing arrangements properly account for and transparently compensate local stakeholders for their labor and resources used in planting and managing trees.
Read More
Featured image for “No Climate Justice Without “Us””

No Climate Justice Without “Us”

Civil society representatives across Asia and Africa met in Dhaka this October to talk about the growing impact of climate change on land-based rural people across Asia and Africa. They crafted the ‘Dhaka Declaration,’ which calls on governments to center rural people, including women, youth, and Indigenous Peoples, in climate change policy.
Read More
Featured image for “To Feed the World, Farmers Need Rights to the Land They Till”

To Feed the World, Farmers Need Rights to the Land They Till

Strong land rights are a crucial prerequisite to the climate resilience and sustainable land management necessary to bolster food security and reach zero hunger.
Read More
Featured image for “Climate Resilience At The Intersection Of SRHR And Land Rights”

Climate Resilience At The Intersection Of SRHR And Land Rights

Gender-equitable SRHR (sexual and reproductive health and rights) and land rights can unlock greater agency and accelerate climate action and justice.
Read More
What's New

Stakeholders complement govt efforts in equipping women on land ownership

July 12, 2024

Khadija Mrisho, Landesa Tanzania land tenure specialist and lead coordinator of S4HL Tanzania, ...

Read More
What's New

Ground Realities: Making land work for renewable energy

July 04, 2024

IDR — Senior Land Tenure Advisor Pinaki Halder explores the challenges and strategies for responsibly acquiring and using land in India to meet the country's renewable energy goals, while addressing the social and environmental impacts.

Read More
What's New

Staff Spotlight: Sangha Toeu

July 02, 2024

Meet Sangha Toeu, Landesa’s ICLT project officer for the northeast of Cambodia, specifically in Ratanakiri Province. Sangha began working for Landesa in January 2024.

Read More
What's New

In Mufindi, where widows struggle to get land rights

June 25, 2024

THE GUARDIAN TANZANIA — Landesa Outreach Director-Africa Dr. Monica Magoke-Mhoja explains that widows in Tanzania often encounter severe inequality when it comes to land ownership, which has profoundly far-reaching effects on various aspects of their lives.

Read More
What's New

Preparing for the Summit of the Future

June 11, 2024

The 2024 UN Civil Society Conference was an inspiring opportunity to facilitate global dialogue among INGOs and CSOs, and we look forward to continuing to advocate for secure land rights at the Summit of the Future this fall.

Read More
What's New

Staff Spotlight: My-Lan Dodd

June 10, 2024

Meet My-Lan Dodd, Landesa’s Attorney & Sr. Land Tenure Specialist, Gender based in Seattle, Washington. My-Lan started working for Landesa in 2008 and re-joined our team in 2011.

Read More

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PLANT SEEDS OF HOPE


Land rights are a key that unlocks a world of possibilities, giving rural families hope, opportunity, and the tools to lift themselves out of poverty. Become a partner in this global movement.

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