The World Bank will be convening its 17th Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty from March 14 to 18, 2016 at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington D.C. The conference theme will be: Scaling up Responsible Land Governance.

Recording of rights for all is increasingly within reach, with services becoming more affordable and appropriate, making tenure more secure. Technology innovations make geospatial data increasingly accessible, along with the growth in capacity to automate processes and manage information, consumer feedback, and electronic payments. Experience with managing systematic registration at-scale and fit-for purpose approaches, participatory mapping, and other forms of crowd sourcing are expanding. The question is no longer whether it can be done but to guarantee inclusiveness, sustainability, reliability, keeping systems current, building capacity and to ensure that better land information and more tenure security contribute to wider societal goals.  Achieving change requires policy space, leadership, courage and sustained effort over time. In particular, land needs to be fully integrated in country strategies, supported by the Finance and Development Ministries in order to transcend policy cycles.  This edition of the conference will pay special attention to working at scale, mainstreaming innovations, and sustaining investments for greater impact.

For more information, visit the World Bank website.