The thematic sessions of the 2013 Interlaken Conference gave rise to four ongoing initiatives on the following issues:
Mapping and Documentation of Community Land and Natural Resources
As a follow up to the Mapping and Documentation Working Group, the Instituto del Bien Común and World Resource Institute convened a meeting in Rome in February 2014 to further develop the idea proposed in Interlaken to create a global mapping platform for indigenous and community lands. The meeting resulted in agreement to move forward with the platform and formation of an initial steering group. Collaborative efforts to build the program are ongoing. Learn more here.
Expanding and Leveraging Private Sector Interest in Securing Community Land Rights
As a follow up to the Interlaken Strategy Session on private sector engagement, a technical meeting was held at the Bellagio Center in Italy in February 2014 to further develop specific targets, outputs, and commitments for private sector partners and participants in the Global Call to Action. This meeting laid the groundwork for a second Private Sector Working Group meeting in London in March 2014. Outcomes of this meeting include developing a shared understanding of the complex set of actors involved in the land rights arena and the ecosystem in which these actors work; a mapping of internal and external constraints to ensuring best practices are adopted; and prioritizing work streams to achieving good practice. Review the meeting reports and learn more here.
Deepening Synergies between Community Land and Resource Rights and Conservation Efforts
As a follow up to the Conservation Working Group in Interlaken, co-organizers including Maliasili Initiatives and the Rights and Resources Initiative have secured two workshop sessions focused on land rights and conservation issues at the November 2014 World Parks Congress. These workshops will provide opportunities to further engage the conservation community on community land rights issues and develop strategies for rights-based approaches to conservation.
Post 2015 Sustainable Development Goals
Oxfam, the Secretariat of the International Land Coalition, and the Rights and Resources Initiative, are engaged in efforts to include a target and indicators on Community Land Rights in the Post 2015 development agenda. The three organizations and their networks of Partners developed a policy brief in April 2014 to call attention to the importance of community land rights for Indigenous Peoples and local communities to global poverty reduction, gender, climate and other development goals. This policy brief was updated in Jun 2014. Read the updated brief here.
Each work stream engages a diverse informal alliance of organizations that are well-positioned to drive concrete action within their respective issue areas. Together, these initiatives are already making progress toward the Call to Action’s goal to substantially increase the amount of land recognized as owned or controlled by Indigenous Peoples and local communities by 2018.
