The World Resources Institute publishes new report, inequalities found in global land right processes

Tuesday, July 31, 2018

WRI has published a new report that sheds light on the blatant inequality between companies and communities in acquiring land rights. As there is an increasing demand for natural resources, securing community land rights is vital for conservation and progress. Unfortunately, government systems are often prone to favor economic growth over traditional land rights.

"More than 50 percent of the world's land is community land that supports as many as 2.5 billion people (Land Rights Now 2018; Pearce 2016; RRI 2015)," notes the World Resources Institute's new report on the inequalities present between local communities and businesses in formalizing land rights.

WRI's recent report adds to the growing body of literature that showcases the increasing pressure local communities are facing concurrently with regional economic expansion. As the research report indicates, this pressure is compounded by the inequalities faced when an entity, whether local or corporate, applies for the legal ownership of land. To conduct such research, the authors examined data from 19 community land formalization procedures in 15 countries, focusing on eight key issues. To help ensure consistency, the researchers developed common indicators for the issues in question.

The outcome of such research is discouraging. WRI found that community land formalization is often complex and time consuming, whereas companies are able to exploit multiple loopholes that enable a quicker process. In addition to the burdensome process, WRI found that most communities must accept restricted rights and new risks when they pursue the formalization of their customary land rights.

Historically, customary tenure systems provided enough security; however, with increasing encroachment, deforestation, and economic growth, customary rights are oftentimes overlooked and disregarded. As new research continues to highlight the important role local and indigenous communities play in climate change mitigation, it is vital that governments strive to create equitable processes of formalization.

More information and the full report can be downloaded here.