A graphic showing the current guides to the UN FAO Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGTs).

1. Guidance on Land-based Investment
Resources for VGGTs Implementation
The Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries
and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGTs) promote secure tenure
rights and equitable access to land, fisheries and forests as a means of eradicating hunger
and poverty, supporting sustainable development and enhancing the environment.
They were officially endorsed by the Committee on World Food Security on May 11, 2012.
Since then implementation has been encouraged by G20, Rio+ 20, United Nations Gen-
eral Assembly and Francophone Assembly of Parliamentarians.
The VGGTs, as ‘soft law’, have spurred the development of implementation guides for a
variety of purposes and industries. These guides are highlighted below:
OECD, IFC and EIB, leading multilateral
organizations working with business-
es and governments, have established
broad guidelines and policies to improve
economic and social outcomes of over-
sees business activity. These guides are
important resources but generally not
detailed enough for stakeholders intent
on understanding best practices for en-
gaging on tenure security. Thus, more
targeted guides have been developed.
Guides for Land & Resource Investment
Guides for Agricultural Investment
Guides for Working with Priority Stakeholders
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO) has developed technical guides focused
on historically vulnerable groups: women and indigenous
communities.
These guides are meant to highlight different factors that
relate to potential inequalities embedded in land rights and
ensure that these priority populations are given a strong
voice in VGGTs implementation. For additional guidance
and resources visit fao.org.
USAID
Operational Guidelines
for Responsible Land-
Based Investment
(2015)
Interlaken Group
Respecting Land
and Forest Rights: A
Guide for Companies
(2015)
FAO
Governance of
Tenure Technical
Guide: Forest
(2013)
FAO
Governance of
Tenure Technical
Guide: Fisheries
(2013)
TMP Systems
IAN Diligence
Analysis: Hydropower
(2015)
TMP Systems
IAN Diligence
Analysis: Forestry
(2015)
TMP Systems
IAN Diligence
Analysis: Road & Rail
(2015)
TMP Systems
IAN Diligence
Analysis: Mining
(2015)
World Bank-UNCTAD
The Practice of Re-
sponsible Investment in
Larger-scale Agricultural
Investment (2014)
FAO
Governance of Tenure
Technical Guide: Agri-
cultural Investment
(2015)
FAO-OECD
Guidance for Re-
sponsible Agricultural
Supply Chains
(2015)
New Alliance Analytical
Framework For Land-
Based Investments In
African Agriculture
(2015)
CCSI-ISLP
A Guide to Land
Contracts:
Agricultural Projects
(2016)
TMP Systems
IAN Diligence
Analysis: Agriculture
(2015)
CS-CDC-EMPEA-IFC
PE & EM Agribusi-
ness: Building Value
Through Sustainability
(2015)
The Interlaken Group
developed this guide
to support companies
aiming to align their
operations with the VG-
GTs. The guide provides
practical and detailed
guidance for companies
to help them do their
part to respect local
land and tenure rights.
This is a practical FAO
guide on improving
governance of forest
tenure and encourages
action in four critical
areas – understanding,
organizing, engaging
and ensuring – to im-
prove decision-making
about forest goods and
services.
This guide discusses US-
AID’s recommendations
for best practices related
to the due diligence and
structuring of land-based
investments, with the
goal of reducing risks
and facilitating responsi-
ble projects that benefit
both the private sector
and local communities.
A technical guide to
implementing im-
proved tenure gover-
nance in fisheries to
support VGGT adop-
tion and endeavors to
provide advice and di-
rection for the fisheries
sector through case
studies and analysis.
The Munden Project Systems developed the IAN risk management platform to
document and provide guidance on tenure risk as well as to address clear prob-
lems in both the assessment and management of this problem. TMP demon-
strates that the financial impact of tenure disputes on projects across agriculture,
mining, hydro power, infrastructure and forestry can be severe.
These guides describe how tenure risk impacts a large-scale land or resource proj-
ect at each stage in its life-cycle and support investors in avoiding and re-mediat-
ing these risks. Specifically, these guides provide an evidence-based picture, based
on numerous case studies and a comprehensive review of relevant literature, of
how and when returns might be threatened by local opposition.
A technical guide on
safeguarding land tenure
rights in line with the
VGGTs for government
authorities involved in
the promotion, approv-
al and monitoring of
agricultural investments.
Also provides best prac-
tices guidance and tools
for implementation.
This report builds off of
a survey of 39 mature
large-scale agribusiness
investments to provide
first-hand, practical les-
sons learned and good
practices to inform the
work of government,
investors, NGOs, and
others interested in re-
sponsible investment.
Agricultural investment
contracts can be com-
plex, and some provi-
sions may be difficult to
understand. This guide,
developed for non-law-
yers, provides expla-
nations for a range of
common provisions, and
includes a Glossary of le-
gal and technical terms.
The OECD and FAO
developed guidance to
help enterprises involved
in agricultural supply
chains observe standards
of responsible business
conduct to ensure their
operations do not lead
to adverse impacts and
contribute to sustainable
development.
The analytical frame-
work is a harmonized
set of operational guide-
lines for implementing
land-based agricultural
investments. Designed
by land experts, it assists
investors in aligning their
policies and actions with
VGGTs throughout the
life of the project.
Written for emerging
market private equity
fund managers, the re-
port highlights trends in
PE investment in emerg-
ing markets agribusiness
and promotes adopting
environmental and social
management systems
to generate sustainable
financial returns.