The Final Report is out, and so are all the session recordings and materials!
Whether you joined us in person, participated online or couldn’t make it, this is your opportunity to explore the Conference’s key insights on land governance across the Arab region through its most pressing themes, including the growing challenges to food security posed by climate change, land degradation and rapid urbanization and the urgent need for sustainable and equitable land use strategies.
Food security in the Arab region is increasingly threatened by the combined pressures of climate change, land degradation and rapid urbanization. Desertification, water scarcity and the loss of agricultural land due to unregulated urban expansion are reducing the region’s capacity to feed its growing population. In parallel, land tenure insecurity undermines efforts to implement sustainable land use practices, preserve biodiversity, and strengthen resilience to drought and climate variability.
Promoting equitable and sustainable agricultural development by investing in agriculture as a vital national asset can help reduce socioeconomic inequalities and encourage agroecological practices. Strengthening government engagement across ministries and planning agencies is vital to the development and implementation of protective measures. Enhancing connections between urban and rural areas will also help build resilient, integrated development models that address land-use conflicts and supports the long-term viability of agriculture amid urbanization and climate pressures.
Land Governance, Natural Resources and Climate Change in the Arab Region
This report describes how poor land governance and natural resource management adversely impact biodiversity, land degradation neutrality and climate mitigation and adaptation. Based on the analysis of case studies, outcomes of regional expert consultations and examination of existing bibliography, the report confirms that climate change, the greatest challenge of the 21st century, is impacting land, natural resources and ecosystems in the Arab region, with dire negative consequences on people’s lives and livelihoods. Good land governance and land tenure security are essential to mitigate challenges and foster sustainable development in the context of climate change. The report recommends setting, committing to, and reporting against land-related SDG indicators and national land degradation neutrality (LDN) targets. Sustainable land management and land-use planning are reconfirmed as key tools to halt land, rangeland and forest degradation and guide urban expansion. The report proposes adopting fit-for-purpose and climate-resilient land administration approaches to promote practical solutions to security of tenure and land-use management.
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Land Degradation and Conflict: Case Studies from Sudan, Jordan and Niger
This research describes the nexus between land degradation and conflict, its main features and how it plays out in the three countries examined as case studies. The report found that land degradation often reflects deeper underlying causes of conflict, including population pressure, limited natural resources, cross-border tensions, weak governance, ineffective land administration, exclusionary politics and overlapping legal systems. When these root causes are present, land degradation can act as a catalyst for conflict and violence, especially in contexts marked by mass displacement, migration, food insecurity and competing land use demands among different groups. The report concludes with a raft of measures to help mitigate land degradation and avert related conflict, stressing the importance of land tenure security to achieve land degradation neutrality. Safeguarding the land rights of individuals and communities is crucial for preventing further land degradation and restoring already degraded areas. Effective land governance and well-functioning land management systems are vital for protecting these rights and play a significant role in addressing the causes and managing the impacts of climate change, desertification and land degradation.
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Land Tenure and Climate Vulnerability
This publication examines the inter-relationships between land tenure and climate vulnerability. The analysis has been framed according to peoples’ exposure to climate-related hazards, the sensitivity of different elements at risk in both urban and rural contexts and understanding how insecure land tenure influences the adaptive capacity of communities and individuals. Potential feedback loops from climate adaptation measures that may act to undermine peoples’ security of tenure have also been considered. The publication has been written with a broad audience in mind, including development, climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, emergency management and land sector communities of practice. The aim is to highlight some of the complex and inter-linked challenges facing marginalized communities and, based on this evidence, signpost possible pathways to positive change. The content herein draws from an extensive literature review and evidence from five international case studies contributed by regional experts. The case studies were selected to enable consideration of differing land tenure and climate vulnerability contexts in different parts of the developing world.
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For more information, we invite you to read the Food Security and Climate chapter of the Final Report of the Third Arab Land Conference, , visit the Arab Land Initiative page on Land for food security and climate action and explore the Third Arab Land Conference E-Library for session materials, research papers and other key resources.
