The Women’s Land Rights Initiative brings together a community of actors dedicated to advancing women’s land rights in the Rio Agenda.

Through strategic joint coordination, knowledge sharing, and advocacy, we collectively ensure that decisions made at the global level prioritize women’s contribution to advancing the Conventions’ goals on the ground.

The Women’s Land Rights Initiative is a community of more than 100 partners that span the political spectrum. From local land rights advocates and grassroots organizations, to governments, UN agencies, and public and philanthropic funders, we’re leveraging our collective expertise to ensure land rights are incorporated in the Conventions’ agendas and processes. This multi-stakeholder composition enables the WLRI to connect local knowledge with global policy processes, strengthen cooperation across sectors and governance levels, and amplify the voice of grassroots communities in international environmental governance.

Its informal network-based structure makes the WLRI an agile platform that can respond quickly to emerging policy opportunities and mobilize actors around specific priorities, including coordinated engagement in Conferences of the Parties (COPs) and related processes.

The hosts of the WLRI are TMG Think Tank for Sustainability, the Robert Bosch Stiftung and the Huairou Commission, as well as co-hosts the Convention on Biological Diversity, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Through the Huairou Commission, a women-led social movement of grassroots groups in over 45 countries, we make sure that grassroots organizations guide decision-making. Rooted in deep community engagement, they champion solutions that reflect the realities and ambitions of local land users to drive more equitable solutions.

The Rio Convention secretariats are strategic partners of the WLRI. Their engagement goes beyond participation in convenings. They help identify relevant policy windows and entry points across the three Conventions, including Gender Action Plans, COP processes, reporting frameworks and emerging opportunities for synergies. They also use the WLRI as a knowledge and exchange platform, particularly to access grassroots perspectives and practical experience on women’s land rights. In addition, the secretariats support visibility and outreach, including through joint communication activities and the engagement of national focal points.

To hear more about why we seek to place land rights for women at the heart of environmental justice, see this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqgtEbUWTdU

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Why our Initiative matters for environmental justice

Land is under increasing pressure from competing global demands, including agriculture, climate mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity conservation, renewable energy expansion and urbanization. As countries pursue sustainable development and a just transition, land governance is becoming become a central issue linking environmental sustainability, economic development and social justice. According to a recent global stocktake by FAO, ILC and CIRAD, only 35 percent of the world’s land has formally documented ownership or tenure rights, and 1.1 billion people fear losing their land or housing within the next five years. </aside>

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Our Goals

The Women’s Land Rights Initiative works to ensure that women’s land rights are systematically integrated across all three Rio Conventions: the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). </aside>

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Our History and Milestones

History - The Women’s Land Rights Initiative was established following a first-of-its-kind workshop convened in 2023 by TMG, the Robert Bosch Stiftung, and the UNCCD Secretariat.
Milestones - So far, we’ve made incredible strides to unify our advocacy efforts that have gained high level recognition. </aside>

Contacts

Ilse Pelkmans, Senior Research Associate - Land Governance, TMG Research , [email protected]

Laura Rahmeier, Senior Project Manager - Climate Change, Robert Bosch Stiftung, [email protected]

Mino Ramaroson, Regional Coordinator - Africa & Land Specialist, Huairou Commission, [email protected]