A meeting on securing community land rights and resources on the 19th and 20th of September ended with a pledge from stakeholders to work together to address this growing global crisis. Representatives of community groups, civil society, business and government met over the two days in the hope to form the initial strategies on the relevant topics within securing community lands and resources, including: the mapping and documentation of community lands and resources; legal recognition and empowerment; Expanding and Leveraging Private Sector Interest in Securing Community Land Rights; Making Community Land Rights a Global Priority; Deepening Synergies between Community Land; and Resource Rights and Conservation Efforts.
Gino Cocchiaro (Natural Justice) attended the legal recognition and empowerment stream and took part in a panel discussion on “Community-based strategies: Strengthening community land and natural resource governance from the bottom-up.” Gino spoke about Natural Justices’ experiences with communities developing community protocols to address their local challenges through dialogue and negotiation with government and business.
Natural Justice and its community partners will continue to be involved in these important discussions and development of strategies for positive change.
