Land rights for sustainable food systems: success stories from ILC members

Industrial food production is the leading cause of biodiversity loss, while also playing a significant role in climate change and pollution worldwide. These three issues are recognised by the United Nations as a "triple planetary crisis" that must be urgently addressed in order to secure a sustainable future. Back in 2021 ILC members recommended systemic solutions for sustainable food systems emphasising the need for secure land tenure to build climate friendly sustainable food systems which protect the interest of smallholders, Indigenous Peoples, pastoralists and other communities. 

Almost two years since the UN Food Systems Summit, where do we stand in relation to what was envisaged by the land community, what different pathways have been achieved and how?

Ahead of the UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment (Rome, 24 – 26 July 2023), ILC hosted a Learning Lab to share and discuss how ILC members’ platforms in South Africa, Peru and the Philippines contributed to advance people-centred land governance and support local food systems. 

This is the first of a series of Learning Labs on how ILC members are contributing to achieve changes in people-centred land governance.

WHAT WE LEARNED

1. Why it’s important to secure land rights to build sustainable and resilient food systems, and what reforms are needed in the context of the UN Food Systems Stocktaking Moment;
2. How ILC members and platforms in Peru, South Africa, and the Philippines have helped unite civil society actors ensuring the needs of the people living on and from  the land by having space for their voices, and why their success stories matter; 
3. How the inputs of civil society actors have been successfully translated into policy measures through collaborations with governments at the national and local levels.

WE LEARNED WITH

• Laurel Oettle, Association for Rural Advancement (AFRA), South Africa
• Pedro Castillo, Centro Peruano de Estudios Sociales (CEPES), Perú
• Timothy Salomon, Center for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (CARRD), Philippines.

With remarks from Patrik Olson, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)

The event was moderated by Rukshana Nanayakkara, Global policy and advocacy expert, ILC.