The transformative power of land rights.

Empowering millions from the ground up.

Why secure land rights matter for all

Break cycles of poverty. Halt deforestation. Close gender gaps. Store carbon. Foster peace and stability. Secure rural livelihoods. Expand access to education. Improve childhood nutrition. These are just a few of the interconnected, transformative impacts that are catalyzed for people and planet when we all have secure rights to land.

Secure land rights provide legally recognized and socially legitimate access to land. When people and communities have secure land rights, they have stronger incentives to use their land and resources more productively and sustainably and, in many countries, they can gain access to public services. Secure land rights for women also means stronger agency and voice in decision-making, more control over income, and improvements in their families’ well-being.

Too many people lack secure land rights.

Two and a half billion people worldwide depend on land for their livelihoods, yet nearly half lack legal rights to the land. Fewer than 15 percent of women in rural areas hold secure rights to their land, despite performing the majority of the labor to sustain their families. When people lack rights to the land they need to survive, cycles of poverty, environmental degradation, and injustice persist across generations.

Landesa contributes to changing this reality.

Landesa's long-standing commitment to securing land rights prioritizes those with the least access to power, including women, Indigenous Peoples, and youth. We center these voices to advance equity across the globe.

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Stronger Land Rights

Number of people benefitted in the Last Year Last 5 Years

broken down by Type of Impact Gender

Because the same person may benefit from multiple programs, to avoid double-counting the combined total may be less than the sum of all program outcomes.

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In the field

Landesa has strengthened land rights for more than 700 million people over the past four decades, empowering communities to achieve shared prosperity through secure access to their land.

The Secret to Confronting Climate Change is Beneath Our Feet

In Tanzania, a young widow discovers the power and potential to change her life and protect the planet – in the land beneath her feet. Landesa worked with district officials, ward administrators, and village elders to provide education and training on sustainable farming, as well as improve secure land rights.

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A Collective Effort Fulfills the Promise of Secure Land Rights

In Eastern India, 20 families in Duari village have transformed 40 acres of barren land into thriving farmland through secure land rights granted by a government program supported by Landesa. With access to water resources, community labor, and support from a local NGO, they now grow a variety of crops, combat hunger, and provide schooling for their children, creating a foundation for a sustainable future.

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A Reason to Smile: Indira’s Sense of Security

In Eastern India, Indira, and her husband, Anirudha, transformed their lives after receiving a land title—allowing them to grow food, build a home, raise goats, and generate a stable income. With their earnings and benefits from a government program supported by Landesa, they’ve expanded their farm and ensured that their children, who now attend school, never face food scarcity or the hardships of landlessness.

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Join us in this critical work

As the global stakes grow higher, our work becomes more important by the day.  Join us in protecting the fundamental and transformational right to land.

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