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

LAND RIGHTS

EXPLORE OUR IMPACT

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IN MEMORIAM
Roy Prosterman

1935 - 2025

Visit the Memorial Page
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IN MEMORIAM

Roy Prosterman

Landesa Founder and Chairman Emeritus

1935 - 2025

Visit the Memorial Page
Image
IN MEMORIAM

Roy Prosterman

1935 - 2025

Visit the Memorial Page

Please join us at

Seed the Change

March 5, 2025   |   6PM   |   Town Hall Seattle

Get Tickets Now

Please join us at

Seed the Change

March 5, 2025
Town Hall Seattle

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Read our 2023 Annual Report

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

Staff Spotlight: Esther Mwaura-Muiru

March 11, 2025

Meet Esther Mwaura-Muiru, Landesa’s Global Advocacy Director, Stand for Her Land based in Nairobi, Kenya. Esther started working for Landesa in 2022.

Read More
Event

International Women’s Day Webinar

March 10, 2025

Join us on March 11th for an empowering, one-hour panel discussion hosted by Together Women Rise, Equimundo: Center for Masculinities and Social Justice, and Landesa in honor of International Women’s Day.

See Event
What's New

Roy Prosterman, who fought poverty through land rights, dies at 89

March 10, 2025

The Washington Post published a detailed account of Roy's life and work to help lead a movement to secure land rights for impoverished people around the world.

Read More
What's New

In Memoriam: Roy Prosterman

February 28, 2025

Roy Prosterman, Landesa’s founder and guiding light, passed away on Feb. 27, 2025, at 89 years of age. Roy was a global development expert and activist whose pioneering vision and tireless advocacy for democratic, inclusive land rights reform impacted hundreds of millions of lives.

Read More
Research

Community Fisheries Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment

February 25, 2025

A new Landesa report provides insights about the climate change vulnerability of Cambodia’s coastal Community Fisheries. The report seeks to provide key insights to enhance community members' understanding of their susceptibility to climate change and highlight the importance of enacting plans to strengthen their resilience.

Read Article
What's New

Our 2024 Annual Report

February 20, 2025

We are pleased to share Landesa’s 2024 Annual Report, which highlights our impact over the past year and introduces our 2025-27 Strategic Plan.

Read More
Featured image for “Beyond land tenure, youth land rights foster socioeconomic development”

Beyond land tenure, youth land rights foster socioeconomic development

With progress on youth land rights, we can help ensure that the next generation of young Africans will be able to secure their futures, putting the continent on the path toward socio-economic development and realizing “the Africa We Want.”
Read More
Featured image for “Climate-smart agriculture offers agency and resilience in rural Liberia”

Climate-smart agriculture offers agency and resilience in rural Liberia

In Liberia’s Bong County, Landesa is helping communities like Diagmah Clan secure formal land rights and adopt climate-smart agriculture, empowering farmers to grow food sustainably and build resilience against climate change.
Read More
Featured image for “National advocacy, local resilience: women’s land rights and climate change in South Asia”

National advocacy, local resilience: women’s land rights and climate change in South Asia

In this three-part blog series, we asked the Women-led Collective Advocacy for Climate Action national coalition leads about their work forming and strengthening coalitions, building capacity among women-led and women-focused civil society organizations, and scaling advocacy efforts for effective emergency preparedness, climate action, and gender-equitable and socially inclusive land rights.
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.
Read More
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
What's New

Staff Spotlight: Esther Mwaura-Muiru

March 11, 2025

Meet Esther Mwaura-Muiru, Landesa’s Global Advocacy Director, Stand for Her Land based in Nairobi, Kenya. Esther started working for Landesa in 2022.

Read More
Event

International Women’s Day Webinar

March 10, 2025

Join us on March 11th for an empowering, one-hour panel discussion hosted by Together Women Rise, Equimundo: Center for Masculinities and Social Justice, and Landesa in honor of International Women’s Day.

See Event
What's New

Roy Prosterman, who fought poverty through land rights, dies at 89

March 10, 2025

The Washington Post published a detailed account of Roy's life and work to help lead a movement to secure land rights for impoverished people around the world.

Read More
What's New

In Memoriam: Roy Prosterman

February 28, 2025

Roy Prosterman, Landesa’s founder and guiding light, passed away on Feb. 27, 2025, at 89 years of age. Roy was a global development expert and activist whose pioneering vision and tireless advocacy for democratic, inclusive land rights reform impacted hundreds of millions of lives.

Read More
Research

Community Fisheries Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment

February 25, 2025

A new Landesa report provides insights about the climate change vulnerability of Cambodia’s coastal Community Fisheries. The report seeks to provide key insights to enhance community members' understanding of their susceptibility to climate change and highlight the importance of enacting plans to strengthen their resilience.

Read Article
What's New

Our 2024 Annual Report

February 20, 2025

We are pleased to share Landesa’s 2024 Annual Report, which highlights our impact over the past year and introduces our 2025-27 Strategic Plan.

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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