Collective Action on Land Tenure & Climate Change

The issue

CALRRural smallholders who have weak or no land tenure rights are among the most vulnerable to the direct effects of climate change. Poverty forces people to cultivate marginal lands, to occupy fragile lands or areas that are vulnerable to flooding, high tides, and storm surges. While poor smallholders are aware of the existing risks to their homes, they often have few options. Insecure land tenure reduces incentives and capacities to mitigate and/or adapt to climate induced-stress. Moreover, without secure land rights rural smallholders are more prone to land grabbing, land loss and migration in the wake of climate change.

The action

In continuation of the pilot initiative, the Collective Action on Land Tenure and Climate Change (CA LTCC) will contribute to the mainstreaming of land rights and good land governance in the climate agenda from national to regional and global levels. In this new phase, the Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC) and the Land Portal Foundation partner with the Asia Pacific Association for Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI), the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities (GATC), and the Youth Initiative for Land in Africa (YILAA).

The partners in this CA aim to emphasize the role of young leaders, as well as of local and Indigenous communities as important land stewards, offering a variety of examples and best practices that help mitigate and adapt to climate change. The focus of various face-to-face activities continues to be in Asia, given a well-established network and ongoing policy discussions. In addition, the CA will also include activities that target stakeholders in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. At the global level, the CA publishes knowledge products on the land rights-climate change nexus.

Expected results

Outcomes

  • Land tenure challenges and inclusive land governance are mainstreamed in climate agendas, including disaster prevention and resilience policies.

Objectives

  • Create greater awareness on the importance of land tenure rights in the climate change discourse among policy makers and the general public.

  • Clarify and stress the role of rural communities in documenting the issue and participating in policy making.

  • Amplify the voices of youth in the land and climate change discourse.

  • Share good practices drawn from the Action for replication.

Key activities & deliverables (2025-2026):

  • Planning meeting conducted to formulate working development framework for enhancing the research and engagement agenda towards linking land tenure-climate change nexus to agricultural food systems

  • Piloting the framework through engagement with key stakeholders on land rights-climate change-food systems in at least two Asian countries

  • Documentation of at least five stories on selected themes on how land rights enhance the capacities of communities to address or cope with the impacts of climate change

  • Organization of multistakeholder regional dialogue in Asia to refine the development framework and share results of the documentation of stories on land-climate change nexus

  • A digital campaign to gather insights and feedback from youth participants of the UN conventions (UNCCD COP16, CBD, COP29)

  • A virtual and highly interactive conference to exchange knowledge, data, and experiences regarding climate action and tenure security targeting young people

  • A side event at COP30 in Brazil, showcasing youth-driven recommendations on climate and land policies and the results of the multi-stakeholder dialogues at in-country and regional processes.

  • All events and communications products will be disseminated through the Land Portal’s, ANGOC’s, and APAARI’s platforms including websites and social media channels.

Partners

In this new phase, the Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC) and the Land Portal Foundation partner with the Asia Pacific Association for Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI), the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities (GATC), and the Youth Initiative for Land in Africa (YILAA).

Previously, the Collective Action partnered with the Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD) in Bangladesh, the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) and ILC Asia. In addition, other ANGOC members, such as Transparency International, Society for Environment and Human Development, Kapaeeng Foundation, the Association for the Realisation of Basic Needs, the Local Community Development Association and others were contributing.

ANGOC and the global partners support the scaling out to other regions, in coordination with the Regional Fora.

What have we done so far?