Integrating land and resource governance across development sectors is the focus of these archived reference sheets. The series connects tenure and resource governance with biodiversity, climate, democracy, and gender equality programming.
Land and natural resources are discrete, finite, and fundamentally important assets. In developing countries, they constitute a substantial part of personal and national wealth. A country’s approach to land and resource governance (LRG) contributes significantly to its broader socioeconomic development. LRG is increasingly recognized as a foundational component of many key environment and sustainable development strategies, and effective LRG strategies at all scales can contribute to achieving positive human well-being and environmental outcomes.
Strengthened LRG is a catalyst for sustainable economic growth. If well governed, land and natural resources are also fundamental for achieving many other development objectives, from conserving biodiversity and mitigating the impacts of climate change, to empowering women and bolstering civil society. If poorly managed, they can exacerbate environmental degradation and increase inequality, corruption, and conflict.
This series of reference sheets are aimed at USAID Missions and other Operating Units interested in integrating LRG into their programming. Each reference sheet in this series briefly outlines existing evidence on the links between LRG and an adjacent development topic—and provides practical guidance for integrating LRG considerations across the Program Cycle.
Integrating land and resource governance: source sheets
Read the July 2022 reference sheets on biodiversity conservation, climate change, democracy and conflict, and gender equality and social inclusion. Each sheet outlines evidence linking land and resource governance with another development topic and provides programming guidance.
For land rights and governance professionals, the collection offers a route into examining tenure considerations alongside sector objectives. Follow the source documents for the detail behind the overview, and read their recommendations in the original publication context.
Explore the related Integrated Natural Resource Management activity and the site’s climate and natural resource governance collection for further archived project and thematic material.