FAO HQ, Rome, Italy

The Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT) were endorsed by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) on 11 May 2012. FAO, together with relevant stakeholders and partners, and with financial support of the European Union, is organizing a technical thematic forum on 5 – 6 October, 2017 to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the VGGT. This forum will be followed by a high-level event on Tuesday 10 October 2017 where the outcome of the technical thematic forum will be reported. Both events will take place in the framework of the 44th Session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS).

Since their endorsement in 2012, significant progress has been made in the dissemination and implementation of the VGGT. Thus, there is a wealth of information and experience regarding VGGT implementation to build upon and draw lessons from, as we move forward to improving governance of tenure of land, forests and fisheries at regional and country level.

The thematic forum will provide a platform for discussion and exchange on what has been accomplished so far, lessons learned and more importantly on next steps for further implementation of VGGT in the coming years. In this regard, the discussion will be forward-looking and it will therefore help inform the actions to be taken in the future to strengthen governance of tenure through the effective implementation and use of the Voluntary Guidelines.

Participants in the event will be representatives of governments, intergovernmental organizations and non-state actors. The term ‘non-state actors’ refers to academia and research institutions, civil society organizations (including three main categories of member-based organizations, in particular small-scale food producer organizations and cooperatives, non-governmental organizations and social movements), and private sector entities (including philanthropic foundations).

Read more here.