Why Land Still Matters: Three Years of the Voluntary Guidelines - Where We Are and Where We Are Going Moderator: Heath Cosgrove, USAID's Land Tenure and Resource Management Office Panelists: Paul Munro-Faure, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations; Annalisa Mauro, International Land Coalition (ILC); and Dr. Joan Cuka Kagwanja, Land Policy Initiative, UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)

The Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries, and Forests in the Context of National Food Security represent an inclusive, transparent international agreement on the governance of tenure to promote food security and sustainable development by protecting the legitimate tenure rights of millions of people and improving secure access to land, fisheri (Read more at

The project “Increase the use of the Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security among CSOs and grassroots organizations” has started in September 2014 thanks to a contribution of the Kingdom of Belgium. Its first phase, ended in December 2015, has involved seven countries: Guatemala, South Africa, Malawi, Myanmar, Niger, Senegal and Nepal.

This video highlights the events of the training of trainers on "Increasing the use of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forest (VGGT) among CSOs and Grassroots Organizations in the Philippines" held on 11-14 July 2016 in Tagaytay City, Philippines.

Statements on the national implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests.

The Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security is the first global exhaustive tool on the tenure of land and natural resources developed through an open inter-governmental process with the full and effective participation of a vast array of relevant actors. In such document, internationally accepted principles and norms were established to define responsible practices for the use and control of land, fisheries and forests.

The Millennium Challenge Corporation's Rick Gaynor discusses how the Voluntary Guidelines for Land Tenure help to strengthen women farmer's claims to land and improve food security around the world.

The video tells about the implementation of the learning programme “Governing land for women and men”, which is part of the efforts to build capacities of change agents in five countries to implement the Voluntary Guidelines for responsible governance of tenure.

The key message of this video is that secure tenure rights provide the foundation for economic growth, enhanced food security and nutrition, reduced conflict, and improved natural resource management while also improving the overall investment environment, thereby fostering increased investment.

Ahead of a seminar in Brussels, Andrew Hilton, an FAO expert on land tenure, underlines the need for open dialogue with the private sector when implementing the Voluntary Guidelines.