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

LAND RIGHTS

EXPLORE OUR IMPACT
Check out Landesa's 2022 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
Field Focus Blog

To Avert the Next Humanitarian Crisis, Empower Women and Girls

May 19, 2023

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 Article
Success Stories

A new dawn for land rights in Liberia

May 17, 2023

On April 28, Landesa organized the launch of land formalization for Togba Nyakon Clan. This marked an important step forward on a journey begun in 2018, when Liberia adopted the national Land Rights Act, granting land rights for rural communities for the first time in the history of the West African nation.

Read Article
What's New

Staff Spotlight: Laura Eshbach

May 10, 2023

Meet Laura Eshbach, Landesa’s Program Director, Corporate Engagement based in Seattle, Washington. Laura began working for Landesa in 2012.

Read More
What's New

Staff Spotlight: Tizai Mauto

April 10, 2023

Meet Tizai Mauto, Landesa’s Sr. Land Tenure and Youth Specialist based in Seattle, Washington. Tizai began working for Landesa in 2015.

Read More
Videos

Zum Zum Zum – Stand for Her Land

March 24, 2023

Dr. Monica Mhoja joins award-winning poet and activist Hellen Bulugu to give voice to the millions of women who are calling out for the one thing they need most: a piece of land of their own.

Read Article
What's New

Respecting the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in Landscape Initiatives

March 21, 2023

Many challenges, such as deforestation, water management, land conflicts, labor rights, and smallholder support require collective action to address them in a meaningful way. This resource offers guidance for planners and implementers of landscape initiatives and suggests practical approaches to ensuring IPLC participation in, or ownership of, decisions in landscape initiatives at various key steps.

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
Featured image for “To protect women and uproot patriarchy means confronting the links between land and gender-based violence”

To protect women and uproot patriarchy means confronting the links between land and gender-based violence

We are inspired by the possibility of strengthening women’s land rights as a way to empower women socially and economically. One such potential benefit concerns the ways in which land rights may protect women from domestic or gender-based violence – a relevant topic as the global community observes the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence.
Read More
Featured image for “Working Together to Advance Respect for Land Rights”

Working Together to Advance Respect for Land Rights

Mars is working with Landesa to create guidance for Mars’ suppliers in their efforts to respect and strengthen land rights. This framework is designed to provide practical steps that suppliers can take to respect the land rights of individuals, families, and communities.
Read More
Featured image for “At COP27, a Call to Root Climate Action and Justice in Land Rights for Women and Rural Communities”

At COP27, a Call to Root Climate Action and Justice in Land Rights for Women and Rural Communities

In Bangladesh’s Sundarbans, life revolves around coastal mangrove forests. But as climate change effects worsen, livelihoods are under threat. Read about what global actors at COP27 can do amid the deepening climate crisis.
Read More
Featured image for “Land and Climate Conversations”

Land and Climate Conversations

In November, the world gathers in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, for the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27). To elevate the voices of our local partners, Landesa spoke with a few of our partners about climate change themes in their work.
Read More
Field Focus Blog

To Avert the Next Humanitarian Crisis, Empower Women and Girls

May 19, 2023

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 Article
Success Stories

A new dawn for land rights in Liberia

May 17, 2023

On April 28, Landesa organized the launch of land formalization for Togba Nyakon Clan. This marked an important step forward on a journey begun in 2018, when Liberia adopted the national Land Rights Act, granting land rights for rural communities for the first time in the history of the West African nation.

Read Article
What's New

Staff Spotlight: Laura Eshbach

May 10, 2023

Meet Laura Eshbach, Landesa’s Program Director, Corporate Engagement based in Seattle, Washington. Laura began working for Landesa in 2012.

Read More
What's New

Staff Spotlight: Tizai Mauto

April 10, 2023

Meet Tizai Mauto, Landesa’s Sr. Land Tenure and Youth Specialist based in Seattle, Washington. Tizai began working for Landesa in 2015.

Read More
Videos

Zum Zum Zum – Stand for Her Land

March 24, 2023

Dr. Monica Mhoja joins award-winning poet and activist Hellen Bulugu to give voice to the millions of women who are calling out for the one thing they need most: a piece of land of their own.

Read Article
What's New

Respecting the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in Landscape Initiatives

March 21, 2023

Many challenges, such as deforestation, water management, land conflicts, labor rights, and smallholder support require collective action to address them in a meaningful way. This resource offers guidance for planners and implementers of landscape initiatives and suggests practical approaches to ensuring IPLC participation in, or ownership of, decisions in landscape initiatives at various key steps.

Read More
OUR BLOG
LATEST UPDATES
Image

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.
MAKE A GIFT