Our Impact

The collective fingerprint of the Rights and Resources Initiative Coalition is reflected in greater global awareness of the recognition of Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and community land rights, including the rights of women within these communities, as a necessary precursor to meeting global development, conservation, biodiversity, and climate goals; major tenure reforms in Peru, China, Liberia, and Indonesia; stronger tenure advocacy in South Asia, Latin America, and West and Central Africa; and enhanced corporate responsibility standards and policy.

The collective achievements of RRI’s 150+ member organizations have greatly influenced the international development ecosystem, leading to the unprecedented adoption of tenure rights as a critical aspect of sustainable development and climate discourse. Here are some of the ways we have realized our impact.

Making the case for Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and community land rights, including the rights of women within these groups

Our advocacy work has contributed to greater collective action; raised awareness of the rights of community women and Afro-descendant Peoples alongside Indigenous rights; and spurred new commitments and action to advance the recognition of community rights — both on global and national levels. RRI’s campaigns have promoted the latest evidence in accessible formats for advocates; linked local-level work to key development and climate processes; and highlighted violations of community rights by governments and commercial actors across the world.

Creating an enabling environment for enhanced rights recognition on the ground

RRI’s work in its priority countries and regions supports the efforts and vision of the Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and community men and women who have been working to advance their rights for decades—helping to create the conditions necessary for tenure reform, and paving the way for successful implementation. This work leverages RRI’s strong analytical base for measuring and instigating progress toward the recognition of land and resource rights, its local-global connections, and its flexible funding mechanism in order to reach key governments and private sector actors during critical windows of opportunity.

Altering the ecosystem to bring rights recognition to scale

RRI has a history of convening: bringing together “unlikely allies” and incubating initiatives, platforms, and institutions designed to address gaps in the realization of community land rights. Together, they have strengthened the ecosystem necessary to drive long-term progress.

Already, with the support of the Tenure Facility—the first and only international, multi-stakeholder financial mechanism exclusively focused on community securing community land and forest rights—Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, and local communities have advanced collective tenure security over more than 4.2 million hectares of land and forest and strengthened protection over 2.4 million hectares of forest categorized as a reserve for Indigenous Peoples living in voluntary isolation or initial contact.

Read about how we deliver our impact.
Read stories of our impact on The Land Writes Blog.