During talks hosted by FAO, the Open Ended Working Group established by Committee on World Food Security (CFS) finalized the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security.
The guidelines will be forwarded for approval to the CFS in May 2012.
13 March 2012: The Open Ended Working Group established by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) to negotiate a set of voluntary guidelines on responsible governance of land tenure and access rights to land, fisheries and forest resources has held its last and final round of negotiations.
The talks, which took place from 5-9 March 2012, at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), concluded successfully with the adoption of the draft guidelines, which will be considered for final approval by the CFS at a special session, tentatively scheduled to take place on 18 May 2012.
The guidelines outline principles and practices that governments can use when administering land, fisheries and forest rights to promote the interests of populations, as well as food security and rural development. The guidelines were developed over the past three years through a consultative process involving 96 governments, as well as representatives from civil society, farmers’ associations and the private sector.
The guidelines include the following principles: the promotion of equal rights for women; transparent record-keeping; and the protection of informal and traditional rights. The guidelines will act as reference for authorities, and provide investors and developers with best practices and benchmarks. [FAO Press Release] [Publication: Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security] [FAO Website on Land Tenure]