The article “Securing pastoralists’ land tenure rights” by VSF International has been published in the issue 3/216 of the journal Rural 21, dedicated to Land Governance.
Land is a major source of people’s identities and livelihoods as well as being a key asset for households. Land ownership and land use rights crucially affect both equality of opportunity and economic and environmental stability. It is entirely justified to include these rights in the Sustainable Development Goals and not without reason that the adoption of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure (VGGT) attracted so much attention four years ago. Often, land remains the only source of livelihood for poor and marginalised households. Thus improved security of land rights first of all creates secure access to basic necessities such as housing and nutrition. When such needs are met, the poor are more likely to be able to afford education, which helps people exit the vicious cycle of poverty.
The article by VSF International, “Securing pastoralists’ land tenure rights” focuses on a topic of primary concerns for millions of pastoralists around the world:
“Formal land titles are rare in pastoral communities around the world. In the past, this presented hardly any problems, since pastoral land was seen as of little use by most outsiders. But with growing competition for areas legal uncertainty is becoming an increasing threat to the livelihoods of pastoralists.”
