February 2017: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) Potsdam have produced a guide and animated film that offer “strategic guidance and inspiration” for the responsible governance of tenure of land, fisheries and forest resources. Also with an emphasis on the global commons, a tranche of projects under the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Ecosystem and Biodiversity (EBD) portfolio were approved by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in 2016, with the aim of optimizing conservation and development benefits from protected areas for countries.
In 2012, the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS) agreed on an international, human rights-based standard known as the ‘Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security’ (commonly referred to as The Voluntary Guidelines or VGGT). In order to support implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines, the IASS Global Soil Forum and FAO led a multi-stakeholder consultative process to gather practical experiences and lessons, which are documented in the guide, ‘Governing Tenure Rights to Commons.’ The Guide offers 12 interrelated strategies, seven illustrative case studies and methodological steps for national and local adaptation covering three key areas of action: the legal recognition and protection of tenure rights to commons; their effective implementation by states and rights holders alike; and the support of communities to enjoy their rights. […]