Highlights
- To mainstream tenure issues in restoration processes and monitor the impact of Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN).
- Communities have a key role in sustainable land management and in achieving LDN and need support in recognizing their legitimate land rights.
- Land tenure progresses through smart partnerships with key actors at different levels and sectors.
Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN)
By adopting the SDGs, UN Member States have made commitments to “strive to achieve a land degradation neutral world” (SDG 15.3). National commitments have been translated into Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) targets together with a formulation of policy actions and measures intended to support land restoration efforts.
For countries such as Benin and Kenya, which depend heavily on their forests to meet their commitments to international agreements and agendas, LDN target-setting and policy formulation largely focus on forest protection and conservation and some measures targeting agricultural lands and wetlands.
The impact of LDN programs
This synthesis report summarizes the findings of two comprehensive reports based on TMG Research pilot studies in Benin and Kenya which explored the impact of LDN initiatives on forest-dependent communities’ rights to land and resources.
It further proposes a set of policy recommendations intended to support the integration of the UNCCD’s Land Tenure Decision (Decision 26/ COP14) which recognizes the importance of responsible land governance in sustainable land management and as a key component in sustainably combatting desertification, land degradation, and drought.
It explores innovative ways to integrate communities’ tenure rights in forest conservation and LDN policies. It especially analyses the role and relevance of digital tools such as participatory mapping in reconciling forest conservation priorities with dependent communities’ legitimate rights to land and forest resources.
