Improving Land Governance and Reducing Cross-Border Transhumance Conflicts in Central Africa

Project Countries: Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic
Thematic Issues: Conflict, Pastoralism
Project Duration: 2024 to 2026
Approximate Funding: $800,000
Conceptual illustration of farms, forests, settlements and a river with land parcel boundaries.

An FAO project supporting inclusive land reform and reducing conflicts related to pastoral mobility in Cameroon, Chad and the Central African Republic.

Full Project Description ↓

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is supporting land governance reforms and conflict prevention linked to cross-border pastoral mobility in Cameroon, Chad and the Central African Republic. The project brings national and local actors together to apply the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests (VGGT) to land reform, access to natural resources and transhumance.

Project at a glance

  • Status: In implementation, as reported to IATI; scheduled April 1, 2024–December 31, 2026.
  • Countries: Cameroon, Chad and the Central African Republic.
  • Implementer: FAO, with its subregional and country offices and land tenure and pastoral teams.
  • Funding: US $800,000 through FAO’s Flexible Voluntary Contribution instrument.
  • FAO project code: FVC/SFC/213/MUL. IATI identifier: XM-DAC-41301-750093.

Objectives and activities

Pastoral herders depend on seasonal mobility and access to land, water and grazing areas across administrative and international borders. Competing claims and weak coordination can lead to disputes among herders, farmers and other users. This project supports the ability of government, customary authorities, civil society and other stakeholders to address these challenges through inclusive tenure governance.

FAO’s planned activities include capacity building on the VGGT, support for country roadmaps for land reform, tools for preventing natural resource conflicts, and exchanges of lessons and good practices. The work considers the rights of local communities, particularly women and young people, and interactions between pastoral mobility and protected areas. FAO describes this as complementary to the regional PARTTAC transhumance program, not the same project.

Progress

At the project’s launch workshop in Douala in July 2024, country delegations developed proposed roadmaps and identified capacity needs for inclusive land reform. FAO reports expenditure through September 2026 in its IATI record. The roadmaps and expenditure should not be treated as evidence that all intended reforms have been completed.

Sources

Project information updated October 2026.

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