There is a growing body of research showing that stronger land tenure security can contribute to important development outcomes, including household investment, women’s empowerment, agricultural productivity, more effective land rental markets, improved access to credit, stronger natural resource governance, and greater resilience in the face of social, economic, and environmental change.
Interpreting land tenure research
While the evidence is encouraging, important knowledge gaps remain. Findings vary across regions and contexts, and there is still much to learn about which approaches are most effective, for whom, and under what conditions. For example, while some land formalization programs have generated positive economic and food security outcomes, results in other settings have been more mixed. There is also a continuing need for research on a wider range of approaches to strengthening tenure security, including customary and collective systems, communal land governance, women’s land rights, Indigenous and community land tenure, and locally grounded institutional reforms.
In this context, research and publications on land issues play an essential role in informing policy, practice, and public debate. They help deepen understanding of the relationship between land tenure and broader development challenges, including poverty reduction, gender equality, food security, climate change mitigation and adaptation, natural resource management, conflict prevention, democratic governance, and resilience.
Using the research collection
All publications, datasets, documentation, summary materials, and related tools shared here are intended to support learning, transparency, and evidence-based decision-making. We encourage researchers, governments, practitioners, civil society organizations, and others to explore and use these resources in accordance with their terms of use.
To place findings in context, explore country profiles alongside the original study’s location, methods, and publication date. Visit land projects to investigate implementation experience, or tools and resources for practical guidance. When comparing land tenure research, distinguish observed results from proposed approaches and check whether the evidence applies to the population or setting relevant to your work.
Suggested reading routes through the land research archive
- Women’s land rights: start with the 2016 women’s empowerment fact sheet and use the women’s land rights guide to explore related evidence.
- Customary tenure: compare the Papua New Guinea profile (2021) with the customary and community tenure guide.
- Climate and resources: read the natural climate solutions and land governance issue brief alongside the climate topic collection.
- Land reform: use The Political Half-Life of Land Reform as a contemporary analysis, then follow its country links to the preserved national research.
These routes connect several types of resource. Distinguish original research findings, historical programme documents and contemporary commentary when using the evidence.