By the Land Facility. Originally published April 1, 2026 by the Land Portal Foundation. Republished from the original article under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.
Related project: The Land Facility.
At the opening session of the 5th International Land Management Conference (ILM5), Will Hines, Humanitarian Director at the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), emphasised that land governance is not a standalone issue but a central factor shaping stability, resilience, and development outcomes in fragile and conflict-affected contexts.
Hines opened by noting that land governance is increasingly significant for UK development policy as political and economic pressures intensify globally. He argued that land shapes the incentives, power structures, and institutions that determine whether societies can manage pressures peacefully or descend into conflict.
Though land is rarely the sole cause of conflict, he acknowledged, it often acts as a catalyst for existing tensions, especially where disputes cannot be easily resolved, institutions lack legitimacy, or reforms threaten political interests. Citing the new Status of Land Tenure and Governance (SLTG) report that only 35% of land is formally documented worldwide, he stressed that this leaves over a billion people vulnerable.
These risks are further intensified by the impacts of climate change and economic shocks. Land becomes a nexus where climate adaptation, environmental protection, and food security intersect. Investing in land governance is a way for “getting ahead of the drivers of instability.”
He emphasised the importance of women’s land rights. Despite their central role in agriculture and household resilience, “women hold less than a fifth of registered land rights globally,” making women’s secure access to land essential for gender equity and broader economic and social stability.
He presented the Land Facility Programme as a practical response from the UK to engage with these issues:
“The Land Facility is our practical offer to governments as we think about our future partnerships around the world and the way that those can work effectively,” he said. “It’s a global programme that supports countries to strengthen land governance in ways that promote stability, build resilience and promote sustainable investment.”
Drawing on an example from Zambia, he showed how partnerships across government, customary authorities, and civil society can reduce conflict risks, strengthen local institutions, and support long-term livelihoods.
Learn more about Land Facility’s work in Zambia
Concluding, Hines reinforced that land governance is inherently political, as it “determines access to resources…access to power, [and] people’s livelihoods.” For him, this explains why land sits at the heart of humanitarian work: “it’s inseparable from the pressures that drive humanitarian needs and the solutions that can reduce it over time. If we want to reduce fragility, build resilience and help communities withstand the shocks of the future, land governance needs to be a part of that effort.”