13 November 2017: The Inter-agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG-SDGs) has reached agreement on reclassifying the SDG tenure security indicator 1.4.2 from Tier III to II status. The decision comes in the wake of concerted efforts by the “custodian” agencies of the indicator – the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the World Bank – as well as an informal donor group known as the “Friends of the Custodians,” to elaborate a roadmap towards achieving Tier I status for the indicator by 2019.

The IAEG-SDGs’ decision, during its 6th meeting in Manama, Bahrain, from 11-14 November 2017, followed the development of a robust global methodology for monitoring indicator 1.4.2, which measures “the proportion of total adult population with secure tenure rights to land, with legally recognized documentation and who perceive their rights to land as secure, by sex and by type of tenure.” The methodology was developed through an international multi-stakeholder consultation process involving national and regional statistical organizations, national and regional land agencies, data agencies, civil society organizations, the private sector and UN agencies. It was supported by the Global Land Indicators Initiative (GLII), a project of the Global Land Tool Network that is facilitated by UN-Habitat with funding from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.

The monitoring methodology provides for a shift in the conventional perception of tenure security by recognizing the need to document and monitor the land rights of over two billion people living in urban informal settlements and indigenous communities’ territories. The measurement approach is also expected to enhance countries’ capacity to collect and track progress, as well as lead to better informed policies and improved land governance to achieve tenure security for all.

The IAEG-SDGs requires that at least 50% of all countries collect data and report regularly on an indicator for it to be recognized as Tier I.

The next milestone for supporters of indicator 1.4.2 is to enhance local and national capacities to collect, analyze and report on land tenure data, to achieve Tier 1 reclassification by 2019. The IAEG-SDGs requires that at least 50% of all countries in all regions collect data and report regularly on an indicator for it to be recognized as Tier I.

Towards this end, the two custodian agencies are rolling out a capacity development and awareness raising programme aimed at supporting national statistical organizations and national land agencies to generate data and prepare regular progress reports to the UN Statistical Commission and to the UN High Level Political Forum (HLPF). To mobilize sufficient resources for these efforts, UN-Habitat and the World Bank, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) are exploring opportunities to harmonize data collection and monitoring of related work under SDG 5 (gender equality), specifically indicator 5.A.1 on equal rights to economic resources, including access to ownership and control over land. [Land Portal Blog] [SDG Knowledge Hub story on efforts to achieve reclassification of indicator 1.4.2]