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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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.
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RECENT NEWS

What's New

Staff Spotlight: Jen Brown

March 13, 2024

Meet Jen Brown, Landesa’s Sr. Land Tenure Specialist based in Seattle, Washington. Jen started working for Landesa in 1998 and re-joined our team in 2018.

Read More
What's New

To Invest in Women’s Economic Empowerment, Finance Solutions From the Ground Up

March 11, 2024

Global WA — Landesa's Ayman Soliman explains that in order to close the gap on women's land rights, we must challenge discriminatory social norms, empower grassroots women to lead, and finance solutions from the ground up.

Read More
Research

Women’s Land Tenure Security as a Pathway to Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation

March 08, 2024

As research on the nexus of land tenure security and climate grows, a more fine-tuned focus on tenure security for whom is needed to assess emerging evidence that women’s land tenure security (WLTS) can be an important lever for enhanced climate change mitigation and adaptation. To this end, we reviewed relevant empirical evidence to ascertain how WLTS affects climate change mitigation and adaptation. Our review seeks to further clarify the significance of women’s land tenure security to climate change mitigation and adaptation, inform Landesa and partners’ climate advocacy, and provide guidance to partners in data generation.

Read Article
What's New

Our 2023 Annual Report

February 13, 2024

We are pleased to share Landesa’s 2023 Annual Report with you. At Landesa, we are honored to have assisted 720 million people in just the past five years on a path toward equitable and secure land rights. These rights lay the groundwork for women advocating for gender justice, Indigenous Peoples protecting their forests and cultures, and coastal communities mitigating and adapting to climate change. Secure land rights are an assurance for the future—offering peace of mind and the ability to use your land to shape your destiny. With strong rights to your land, you can fill in the blank with what land means to you.

Read More
What's New

Staff Spotlight: Rachel Dinda

February 09, 2024

Meet Rachel Dinda, Landesa’s Land Tenure Specialist based in Nairobi, Kenya. Rachel began working for Landesa in 2022.

Read More
What's New

Liberia: Landesa, Partners Rally Support for Inclusive Climate Action and Land Rights

January 31, 2024

Landesa, in collaboration with the Rights and Rice Foundation, has commenced a groundbreaking conference titled “Land Rights for Inclusive Climate Action and Sustainable Development” in Monrovia, Liberia. As Liberia faces the repercussions of climate change, the conference outcomes could chart a course towards a resilient and climate-smart land tenure system, serving as a model for other African nations confronting similar challenges.

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
Featured image for “To Avert the Next Humanitarian Crisis, Empower Women and Girls”

To Avert the Next Humanitarian Crisis, Empower Women and Girls

Women and girls are resilient agents of change – and their potential to respond to all crises, from conflict to climate change, is accelerated when they enjoy secure rights to land.
Read More
Featured image for “A Growing Momentum to Promote Youth Land Rights in Tanzania”

A Growing Momentum to Promote Youth Land Rights in Tanzania

Because youth constitute the majority of the population across Africa, investing in youth access to land is recognized as a key strategy for both economic and agricultural development. A number of countries have embraced this strategy, with Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania among others advancing efforts to improve youth land rights.
Read More
What's New

Staff Spotlight: Jen Brown

March 13, 2024

Meet Jen Brown, Landesa’s Sr. Land Tenure Specialist based in Seattle, Washington. Jen started working for Landesa in 1998 and re-joined our team in 2018.

Read More
What's New

To Invest in Women’s Economic Empowerment, Finance Solutions From the Ground Up

March 11, 2024

Global WA — Landesa's Ayman Soliman explains that in order to close the gap on women's land rights, we must challenge discriminatory social norms, empower grassroots women to lead, and finance solutions from the ground up.

Read More
Research

Women’s Land Tenure Security as a Pathway to Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation

March 08, 2024

As research on the nexus of land tenure security and climate grows, a more fine-tuned focus on tenure security for whom is needed to assess emerging evidence that women’s land tenure security (WLTS) can be an important lever for enhanced climate change mitigation and adaptation. To this end, we reviewed relevant empirical evidence to ascertain how WLTS affects climate change mitigation and adaptation. Our review seeks to further clarify the significance of women’s land tenure security to climate change mitigation and adaptation, inform Landesa and partners’ climate advocacy, and provide guidance to partners in data generation.

Read Article
What's New

Our 2023 Annual Report

February 13, 2024

We are pleased to share Landesa’s 2023 Annual Report with you. At Landesa, we are honored to have assisted 720 million people in just the past five years on a path toward equitable and secure land rights. These rights lay the groundwork for women advocating for gender justice, Indigenous Peoples protecting their forests and cultures, and coastal communities mitigating and adapting to climate change. Secure land rights are an assurance for the future—offering peace of mind and the ability to use your land to shape your destiny. With strong rights to your land, you can fill in the blank with what land means to you.

Read More
What's New

Staff Spotlight: Rachel Dinda

February 09, 2024

Meet Rachel Dinda, Landesa’s Land Tenure Specialist based in Nairobi, Kenya. Rachel began working for Landesa in 2022.

Read More
What's New

Liberia: Landesa, Partners Rally Support for Inclusive Climate Action and Land Rights

January 31, 2024

Landesa, in collaboration with the Rights and Rice Foundation, has commenced a groundbreaking conference titled “Land Rights for Inclusive Climate Action and Sustainable Development” in Monrovia, Liberia. As Liberia faces the repercussions of climate change, the conference outcomes could chart a course towards a resilient and climate-smart land tenure system, serving as a model for other African nations confronting similar challenges.

Read More

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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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