We welcome you to join this event to explore three objectives:

1) Better understand several critical entry points the Rio Conventions already provide for advancing women's land tenure.

2) Explore the need and ways to realise how global policy processes can be centered on women’s land rights and their local realities.

3) Dive deep into the question of financing women’s land rights through the Conventions. 

Background:

Land is the common thread running through the Rio Conventions. All three rely on land-based measures to achieve their goals, whether through restoring degraded land, enhancing carbon dioxide removal through nature-based solutions, or accelerating biodiversity conservation. But the land designated to those commitments is often already managed by local communities and Indigenous Peoples who depend on it for their livelihoods. The recognition of land rights – particularly those of women – is key to the success of all three Rio Conventions. Yet, anchors to advance women's tenure rights through the Convention processes remain under explored. Not only does UNCCD’s commitment to women’s land rights – evident through their land tenure decisions and gender action plan – need be mirrored in UNCBD and UNFCCC, but critical opportunities for synergies exist to advance land tenure across them.  

The Women’s Land Rights Initiative was launched in 2023, and is hosted by TMG Research, the Robert Bosch Stiftung, and grassroots organization, the Huairou Commission, as well as co-hosted by the secretariats of UNCCD, UNCBD and UNFCCC. The Initiative is a network of more than 60 partners spanning the full political spectrum: from grassroots movements, national focal points, international networks and policy stakeholders. It's dedicated to exploring how women’s land rights can be structurally anchored within the Rio Conventions to advance land tenure for women: for example, by aligning national strategies, implementing gender-responsive indicators, and mobilizing resources for women’s land rights. Importantly, efforts to pursue these and other entry points need to be guided by grassroots organisations who can ensure global and national policies and programmes are anchored in the needs and rights of local land users.

This session was generously funded by the Robert Bosch Stiftung