A panel on closing the gap in the recognition of community & indigenous land rights

2015 was the year we found the extent of the gap between customary lands claimed by the world’s 1.5 billion indigenous and local communities, and the amount of that land recognized by national laws. We learned that barely 18 percent of the world’s land is formally recognized in statutory law as owned or controlled by indigenous and local communities. Governments claim most of the rest.

This gap means that the rights to a vast area of the world’s surface are contested. It is the reason why land disputes are a major cause of conflict in many countries.  It also represents a chasm between fair and equitable rural development, one where environmental destruction flourishes, poverty festers and human rights are extinguished.

Indeed, the future development of many countries hinges on resolving land conflicts and converting customary rights into statutory law. Our panel of global experts will examine RRI’s 2015-2016 annual review of the state of rights and resources across the world, take stock of progress and failures in 2015, and explore ways to close the current gap in recognition of indigenous and local community rights.

Reports & Resources

• Event Agenda

• Closing the Gap: Strategies and scale needed to secure rights and save forests | FRENCH | SPANISH

• Protecting Liberia’s Forest: Conservation for People and Planet

• Protecting the DRC’s Forest: Protected Areas for People and Planet

• IAN: Managing Tenure Risk

• Factsheet: Community Governance Supports Forest Livelihoods and Sustainability

• Infographics:

Speakers & Panelists