solutions for land, housing, and health ● from commitments to improved practice karol c....
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Solutions for Land, Housing, and Health ● www.cloudburstgroup.com
From Commitments to Improved Practice
Karol C. Boudreaux
Land Tenure and Resource Rights Practice Lead
Company Commitments
• Let’s recognize progress
• Commitment language tracks UNGP
Land rights, not just for Indigenous People,are increasingly recognized under the human rights umbrella
• We are at early stages
We’re not there yet…
• Early assessments need to improve:• Specify the methodology being used• Look behind & beyond title documents• Identify ALL affected stakeholders• Engage with stakeholders through KII/FG discussions
• Report findings & publish your data
• Understand traditional livelihoods, access to resources• Identify which rights are at risk• Check settlement patterns, resource use against geospatial
data
Coca-Cola’s Guatemala Assessment*Concerns identified in the Assessment: • Land disputes prevalent
• Highly unequal land holdings
• History of violence against land activists
• Displacement of indigenous peoples for commercial purposes
• Poor enforcement of laws
• Industry influence on politics
Assessment Shortcomings:
• Ex-post; there is no baseline
• What is behind the titles?
• Prior consultation? Compensation?
• Do indigenous peoples’ groups agree?
• Do women’s groups agree?
• Conclusion is not supported by the evidence presented
*http://assets.coca-colacompany.com/d4/6b/1e57d9b9486092555db4aa983b43/review-on-child-and-forced-labor-and-land-rights-in-guatemalas-sugar-industry.pdf
Getting to better solutions
• Assessments need to dig deeper, adopt a tenure lens• Engage with customary & informal systems• Support participatory mapping • Recognize communities are not homogenous• Women, youth, vulnerable/minority groups often have
discrete rights & require separate, specialized engagement
• Leverage geospatial information• Work to develop partnership opportunities• Encourage host governments to address legal gaps
Additional steps to mitigate conflicts
• Pro-active• Better policies, practices, training• Multi-stakeholder processes mean you need to do stakeholder
analysis• Think small• Avoid conflict/red-flag areas
• Reactive• Support independent para-surveying, paralegals• Raise awareness of rights• Be a voice of change with the government• And ask: How can you improve the human rights situation?
Expanding resources
• Newer Guidance documents:• UNGP Reporting Framework• FAO Technical Guides for VGGT• AU/LPI’s Guiding Principles on Large-Scale Land-based Investments in
Africa• USAID’s Operational Guidelines for Responsible Land-based
Investment• French Development Agency’s Guide to due diligence of agribusiness
projects• FAO-OECD Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains • IISD Guide to Negotiating Investment Contracts for Farmland & Water• Global Witness/ILC/Oakland Institute Dealing with Disclosure • Landesa’s “Playbooks”
Looking ahead
• We should expect improved assessments • Land tenure professionals can help:• Developing enhanced HRIA modules on land rights
• As a cross-cutting issue (property, cultural heritage, livelihoods, env’t, housing)
• Creating indicators to track and measure progress against commitments
• Translating guidance into action• Engaging with activist shareholders to drive agenda • Engaging with companies to expand internal capacity
Not just to reduce risk but to truly build shared value