The representative discusses FAO's work with partners to implement the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests. This includes raising awareness, establishing multi-stakeholder platforms, developing capacity, and supporting national policy and law processes. The representative highlights examples of these efforts in countries like Myanmar and China. FAO hopes the Guidelines can provide a framework to improve tenure governance through inclusive dialogue at the national level.

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OPENING ADDRESS MEKONG REGIONAL LAND FORUM
ON BEHALF OF THE FAO
21 June 2016, Hanoi, Viet Nam
Honourable Le Quoc Doanh, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development,
Honourable Ngo Dong Hai, Vice Chairman of the Economic Committee of the Communist Party,
Distinguished guests, Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen;
On behalf of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), I am grateful to the organizers
being able to say a few words in this Plenary Session of the Regional Land Forum. This Forum is a platform for
dialogue and information sharing on key land governance challenges, experiences and lessons that are
affecting vulnerable groups, including smallholder farmers, minority groups and women, and to share solutions
for the Mekong Region. Millions of people, in this region, depend on access to farmland and rangelands, to
fisheries, and to forests for their livelihoods. Imagine, approximately seventy percent of people in developing
countries do not have any form of documentation to protect their legitimate tenure rights to these resources.
These are matters that are at the core of FAO's mandate and of FAO's global implementation programme
regarding the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in
the Context of National Food Security.
FAO and its partners initiated the preparation of this unprecedented international agreement long before its
endorsement through the Committee on World Food Security on 11 May 2012. Actually, here in Hanoi in
October 2009, the second Regional Consultation was held to assess the regional priorities and issues in Asia.
The formulation was an inclusive, participatory process.
The Voluntary Guidelines or Tenure Guidelines, as I would prefer to call them, aim at achieving food security for
all and support the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food
security. The Tenure Guidelines contain well-practised and proven, accepted, good practices. They aim at
benefiting all people in all countries, although there is an emphasis on vulnerable and marginalized people.
With wide ownership by governments, civil society and the private sector, they represent an unbiased
framework in which new conversations on tenure are taking place, new skills are being developed, and new
policies are being influenced in participatory ways. States can use the Tenure Guidelines when developing their
own strategies, policies, legislation, programmes and activities. They allow governments, civil society, private
sector and citizens to judge whether their proposed actions and the actions of others constitute acceptable
practices.

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I would like to highlight four aspects of the implementation process in which FAO and its partners are involved.
These aspects are:
1. Awareness raising;
2. Multi-stakeholder platforms and processes;
3. Capacity development; and
4. Supporting efforts ensuring that the Tenure Guidelines' principles and best practices are embedded in
the national policies and laws.
These four aspects of the implementation process should not be treated separately, because the greatest
benefits come when they are interlinked and mutually reinforcing.
To start with Awareness raising.
One of the first activities of FAO’s work with partners was to raise awareness as to how people can use the
Tenure Guidelines in their own situations, whether they work in government, civil society organizations, the
private sector or academia. And this is work that is ongoing – it never stops.
The focus then moved to raising awareness of how the Tenure Guidelines can be used in the context of
individual countries or a specific region.
Let me you some examples to illustrate this:
 At national level, awareness was raised in Myanmar in the context of the new National Land Use Policy,
as well as awareness on the linkages between tenure and food security and nutrition in the joint
European Union/FAO Programme on Food Security Impact, Resilience, Sustainability and
Transformation Programme (FIRST).
 I would like to give two examples from China:
 At national level, awareness was raised in China in the context of Rural Land Registration. In five
years, the confirmation of registration and certification of household land contract management
rights in the rural areas will be realized. This concerns around 1 billion agricultural parcels. As a
precursor, several pilot projects were launched at provincial and municipal levels to test various
approaches. This allows a more tailor-made approach in each region, as well as solutions for
effective and efficient rural land registration.
 Also in China, there is a work stream that focuses on the Tenure Guidelines and outbound
investments in agricultural land. The Tenure Guidelines explicitly state that business enterprises
should avoid infringing human rights and legitimate tenure rights. Which principles and best
practices are in place in the countries where the investment originates, what is in place in the
countries receiving these investments to protect the legitimate tenure rights and right holders in

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the area where the investment will take place? How do investments affect customary tenure rights
and right holders? Are local communities consulted? Is free, prior and informed consent practised?
Are alternative business models taken into account tailored to the local situation in order to create
a win-win situation for government, investor and the local communities? Many questions.
 At regional level, FAO is involved in the Mekong Region Land Governance (MRLG) project in work on
the recognition of customary tenure. Investments in agricultural land and forested land often take
place in areas where customary tenure prevails and where the livelihoods strongly depend on these
natural resources. Recognition of legitimate tenure rights and their holders is a key principle of the
Tenure Guidelines, as well as the promotion and safeguarding of these rights from the threats that
might compromise them.
But as said, awareness raising is the beginning of a process. It provides a level playing field and platform for
other activities. I would like to address the second aspect Multi-stakeholder platforms and processes.
These often represent a fundamental change to how countries work on improving tenure arrangements. They
represent a shift from the traditional top-down ways of doing business in government.
These platforms and processes bring people together. They provide a forum where different stakeholders can
have a conversation that might not have otherwise happened.
In bringing people together, they provide a space to develop consensus on priorities: what should be done to
improve tenure governance, how, by whom and when?
And in doing so, these platforms and processes reflect how the Committee on World Food Security works, and
the importance of working in that way, at the country level.
In FAO's experience there is no single factor that is responsible for successful multi-stakeholder platforms and
processes; instead a combination of factors are likely to exist. Here are some examples:
 The platform or process must be a truly multi-stakeholder one. Every stakeholder group has a role to
play and should be on board. Without government on board, things will fail. Without civil society, the
interests of a large portion of the population will be ignored. Getting the private sector on board has
proven to be challenging. But every effort needs to be made.
 The platform or process must be linked to a national priority. There has to be a specific reason for the
platform or process to exist. Otherwise, the platform will simply be a place for people to talk but
without an agenda: nothing will be accomplished and over time people will lose interest. There needs
to be a common focus so there is one conversation. The experience shows that the particular focus in
each country is different and is defined by national priorities.
 For example, in Myanmar, a multi-stakeholder process formed around the development of the
National Land Use Policy.

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 The platform or process must also be sustainable over the long-term. Commitment is needed, meaning
here that a one time event is no option; to guarantee results a program of activities should be defined.
It takes time to have a conversation and develop a consensus. It requires an ongoing relationship
between the stakeholders.
 Time is needed to build trust between different stakeholder groups, to understand one another,
and to develop a common understanding, and to learn how to reconcile different views into a
common work programme.
 There is also often a need to build trust within particularly stakeholder groups.
 There is also a need to keep the momentum in order that activities continue over the long term. There
needs to be people who drive things forward.
 Sometimes, there is a need for external support, especially in the beginning. Platforms and processes
can be relatively new approaches to a country, resulting in questions.
 Finally, there is a need for political will. Earlier, we saw that it is important to link the platform or
process to a national priority. But for this to be effective, there needs to be political will – otherwise
policy and legal reforms will not take place, and there will not be significant changes on the ground.
 Sometimes there is strong awareness and willingness to take action from the beginning. But in
many cases, the political will needs to grow, which is why the long-term sustainability and
continued momentum is important. The platforms and processes can play an important role: as
more and more people from different stakeholder groups participate in them, they attract more
and more attention. As the popular base of support for the platforms and processes grows,
politicians begin to recognize that the topics are important and ministers start to see that they and
their agencies need to play an active role. The wider the base of the political will, the greater the
chances of continuity even after changes in ministers or in governments.
Another aspect that I would like to highlight is Capacity development.
In order for people from government, civil society, private sector and academia to participate effectively in the
multi-stakeholder platforms and processes, there is often a need for them to develop the capacity to do so.
And the platforms and processes themselves become a useful forum for providing opportunities for people to
develop capacities. This helps the stakeholders to participate in the development and implementation of
policies and processes.
 For example, in Myanmar, a capacity assessment was carried out in which government and CSOs self-
assessed their current capacities in order to define the desired situation. This capacity assessment will
form the basis of further work in the country. Furthermore, FAO together with TNI enhanced the
capacities of CSOs and grassroots organizations in using the Tenure Guidelines.
Lastly, in fourth and last place I would like to highlight Supporting national policies and law processes.

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These can look very differently in specific countries depending on a range of factors. The levels of possible
engagement in the process of supporting the development and implementation of policies and laws can range
from a general assessment, to policy and law formulation, capacity building for the implementation, and the
implementation at national and then at local level.
Throughout this process, some key factors have emerged that have contributed to an enabling environment for
the successful development and implementation of policies and laws:
 The development and implementation of laws and policies are strongly dependent on political will, as
already mentioned, and the openness of governments for conducting land assessments, reviewing and
changing policies and laws in their country based on the Tenure Guidelines. Political will can help drive
these processes, creating an environment that opens discussions on tenure aspects and that is offering
possibilities/opportunities for enabling a change in policies where needed.
 As the process of policy development progresses, more and more stakeholders become involved. To be
sustainable and successful, policies and laws need to be drafted from the start with the participation
and consultation of many different stakeholders. National platforms and multi-stakeholder processes
can provide an enabling setting for ensuring participatory development of new laws and policies.
 In Myanmar, the responsible ministry and the committee that drafted the National Land Use Policy
were aware of new approaches and were supportive enough to include a broad multi-stakeholder
consultation process. Several resource partners also strongly supported the idea of a consultative
process. CSOs were strongly involved in this process and provided systematic feedback for this
consultation process. The scope and timeframe for the consultations was even extended in order
to allow enough time for full participation by stakeholders and to cover the entire country.
 Implementing the Tenure Guidelines in a country’s policy framework needs to correspond closely with
the national priorities of the country. This will create ownership of the new land policy, without which
there is little chance of a successful and sustainable implementation. The national platforms and multi-
stakeholder dialogues provide a viable opportunity for defining this linkage to national priorities.
 For a successful implementation of policies or laws, the design of a policy framework needs to be based
and tailored to the available local capacity. A “one-size-fits-all” approach is inadequate.
The four aspects I mentioned -that is awareness raising, multi-stakeholder processes and platforms, capacity
development and supporting national policies and law processes- are significant on their own, but they are
actually closely intertwined and interact with and influence each other. Multi-stakeholder processes bring
people together to discuss a commonly defined goal with regards to the Tenure Guidelines implementation, as
well as identify the needs for capacity development. Capacity development, in turn, enables stakeholders to
develop a better understanding of and ability to improve tenure issues in their countries and to drive the policy
development and implementation process. The formulation of policies or laws and their implementation is
hence strongly informed by multi-stakeholder processes and capacity building. Having these four aspects in
place creates a win-win situation.

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Ladies and Gentlemen,
With the Tenure Guidelines now a reality, they provide a framework of internationally recognized principles
and practices for improving the governance of tenure of land, fisheries and forests. In the words of Dr Paul
Munro-Faure, Deputy Director of my Division, they provide a framework that has made “it easier to sit at the
table and begin to negotiate”, something that would otherwise be inconceivable.
At the national level, it is left to each individual country to contextualize the Tenure Guidelines and, through an
inclusive dialogue with all stakeholders, define what a legitimate right is and how best to protect and regulate
rights related to natural resources. The Tenure Guidelines are yours!
FAO hopes that, as is happening in many other countries, you may find in the Tenure Guidelines a tool that
enriches the governance of tenure discussion, guides the process, helps identifying roles and responsibilities of
different stakeholders, provides examples of best practices to inspire you, and can be used as a check-list
against which progress may be monitored in the areas of land, fisheries and forest tenure.
With the Tenure Guidelines now a reality, there are both challenges and opportunities for achieving responsible
governance of tenure. Let us work together and put the Tenure Guidelines into practice to improve the
governance of tenure.
On behalf of FAO, I would like to wish you all a fruitful, inspirational and successful Regional Land Forum.
Thank you.