LAND FORUM LAC 2024

Land governance in Latin America has been affected in recent years by intense political changes -- some favorable and others adverse -- for indigenous, peasant and Afro-descendant 's land rights. Added to this are the growing impacts of the climate crisis along with the policies and measures to address it. New forms of extractivism associated with the energy transition are emerging and impacting territories, exacerbating conflicts and land dispossession.

On the other hand -- to address the climate crisis and promote more sustainable development models and food systems -- there is growing recognition of the importance of guaranteeing land rights for people who live and depend on the land. In addition, new discussions emphasize the need to recognize the right to land as a human right, developing this within the framework of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR).

In response to this situation, grassroots organizations and social movements, including those of women and rural youth, are increasingly strengthening their fight for land rights and other fundamental rights with concrete proposals in political dialogues at the national and international levels. From sustainable agricultural proposals to community-based natural resource management programmes, peoples and communities have demonstrated that solutions are found in territories when land rights are secured.

In a series of 6 online sessions, the Land Forum LAC 2024 will promote and exchange emerging policies, practices and strategies to advance inclusive land governance. The forum will particularly emphasize the role currently played by peasant, indigenous, Afro-descendant and women's movements, as they are on the front lines of defending rights and denouncing harmful policies. There will be an exchange between countries where significant progress has been made thanks to the protagonism of these groups, and those countries with more authoritarian and adverse land rights contexts in which strategies for the defense and protection of human rights have prevailed.

The Forum constitutes an important space for inter-learning and a unique opportunity to position the role of land rights as central to achieving more prosperous and sustainable societies. It's also a platform to promote regional frameworks about these issues. The event will additionally produce key themes to feed the discussions that will take place at the Global Land Forum 2025 in Colombia.

Day 1 - May 28th

09:00 - 11:00 h Lima (check schedule in your country here)
Session 1: Agrarian reforms and transformations in Latin America: advances in the democratization of access, use, and control of land.

15:00 - 16:30 h Lima (check time in your country here)
Session 2: The struggle of indigenous and Afro-descendant women for access to water and the rights of Mother Nature.

Day 2 - May 29th

09:00 - 10:30 h Lima (check schedule in your country here)
Session 3: Challenges and good practices for the recognition of the territorial rights of indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples.

15:00 - 16:30 h Lima (check time in your country here)
Session 4: Challenges and strategies of the semi-arid regions of Latin America in the face of rural migration and the climate crisis.

Day 3 - May 30

09:00 - 10:30 h Lima (check time in your country here)

Session 5: New scenarios of extractivism and strategies of struggle of social movements and land and territory defenders.

15:00 - 16:30 h Lima (check the schedule in your country here)

Session 6: Transition processes in Latin American food systems.

TO WHOM IT IS ADDRESSED

Indigenous, peasant, Afro-descendant, women's and youth organizations, NGOs, research centers, intergovernmental and international cooperation agencies, and government representatives.

LANGUAGES

Spanish with simultaneous translation into Portuguese and English.

ORGANIZED BY

International Land Coalition Latin America and the Caribbean (ILC LAC), Land and SDG Regional Initiative, Rural Women and Land Right Initiative, Plataform Land and Territory Defenders Land Matrix Latin America and the Caribbean, Regional Initiative of Family Farming , Plataform Semiarids Latin America, Collaborative Strategy in Colombia for the Guarantee of Land and Territorial Rights, Platform for the Defense of Land and Territory - CNT Guatemala, National Land Coalition of Argentina - ENI Argentina, National Land Coalition - ENI Bolivia, and Platform for Responsible Land Governance in Peru.

Partner organizations: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Tenure Facility, Church World Service (CSW), OXFAM, International Forum of Indigenous Women (FIMI), ASA Brazil and DATALUTA.