Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, Figure 1), which were adopted by all member states of the United Nations in 2015, describe a universal agenda that applies to and must be implemented by all countries, both developed and developing. Sound metrics and data are critical for turning the SDGs into practical tools for problem-solving by (i) mobilizing governments, academia, civil society, and business; (ii) providing a report card to track progress and ensure accountability; and (iii) serving as a management tool for the transformations needed to achieve the SDGs by 2030.

The gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development presents an enormous opportunity to achieve gender equality, end poverty and hunger, combat inequalities within and among countries, build peaceful, just and inclusive societies, protect and promote human rights, and ensure the lasting protection of the planet and its natural resources. The SDGs provide an important framework for collective action to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls and the realization of their full enjoyment of all human rights.

There is a direct relationship between women’s right to land, economic empowerment, food security and poverty reduction. A gender approach to land rights can enable shifts in gender power relations, and assure that all people, regardless of sex, benefit from, and are empowered by, development policies and practices to improve people’s rights to land. This brief gives an overview on how to consider gender aspects in projects and programmes addressing land rights.