The 10th India Land and Development Conference (ILDC) will take place from November 17–19, 2026, at XIM University in Bhubaneswar, India. The theme for this year’s conference is “Bridging the Gap: From Promise to Practice.”
The conference will focus on one of the central challenges in land governance: the gap between policies, commitments, technologies, and rights frameworks on paper and the way they work in practice. ILDC 2026 will examine how land governance systems can become more credible, accessible, inclusive, and responsive to the realities of people and communities.
The program will bring together government representatives, civil society organizations, researchers, international agencies, private-sector actors, and grassroots leaders to exchange evidence and experience on land governance, policy, and development. Discussions will span rural, urban, forest, and peri-urban contexts and will include issues related to land administration, climate action, community rights, digital systems, natural resources, and inclusive development.
Cross-cutting themes include gender, pastoralism, localization, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and inclusive growth. The conference will also explore how land governance can respond to competing demands linked to climate action, biodiversity protection, infrastructure, urbanization, and investment while recognizing rights, local knowledge, and existing tenure systems.
Since its first edition in 2017, ILDC has developed into a major multi-stakeholder forum on land governance. According to the organizers, the conference has engaged more than 3,500 participants from over 70 countries, worked with more than 200 institutions, and hosted more than 400 sessions.