The international conference on Scaling-Up Strategies to Secure Community Land and Resource Rights begins on Thursday” September 19 in Interlaken” Switzerland.

The two-day conference is co-organized by Rights and Resources Initiative” International Land Coalition” Oxfam” International Union for Conservation of Nature and HELVETAS. It is hosted by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). For the conference program” click here.

This international conference  aims to increase the profile and prioritization of community land rights as a global concern” catalyze new ideas and alliances” and secure commitments to take these strategies forward in coming months and years. It is bringing together over 170 participants that represent a wide diversity of stakeholders — governments” local communities” Indigenous Peoples’ organizations” private investors” food and resource companies” and conservation organizations — that have a direct” common” and urgent interest in clarifying and securing the ownership of these land and resources.  Specifically” this conference will:

•    Collect” share” and synthesize leading strategies” experiences and bodies of knowledge for strengthening and scaling up community land tenure based on experiences by diverse actors in different parts of the world” in order to develop a better understanding of ‘best practices’ in investing in strengthening community land rights.

•    Raise the public profile of community land rights as a global development” environmental” and human rights priority issue” and generate information” ideas” and practical action plans to shape key investment and policy processes in ways that better support local land and resource tenure.

•    Provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and development of new collaborations and alliances between different actors and interests around community land tenure issues” including social justice and conservation NGOs” indigenous peoples organizations and networks” rural social movements” private investors and companies” multilateral institutions” and national policy makers.

For live updates and blog posts from conference participants and organizers” visit IISD's coverage of the conference” our conference blog or follow us on Twitter or Facebook using #LandRightsNow.