Guided by its agenda to promote the secure tenurial rights of small scale women and men family farmers over land and natural resources, the Asian Farmers Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) has participated in an online session that promotes the importance of land rights in building back better and in transforming food systems.
Last 2 July 2021, Myline Macabuhay, Coordinator for the Young Farmers and Land Rights agenda of AFA, served as a speaker in one of the parallel sessions of the 2021 LANDac Annual International Conference. Organized by the International Land Coalition (ILC), the parallel session revolved around the theme, “Re-imagining our Future: Building Back Better through Progressive Land Policies and Practices in the post COVID-19”. The session covered the changes in land governance during the pandemic, showcased ILC member activities to protect or strengthen land rights during the COVID-19 period, and formulated a set of policy recommendations building on ILC’s policy position on land. Specifically, Ms. Macabuhay shared about the organization’s involvement in the Land Matrix Initiative (LMI), and how it contributed to strengthening land rights at the country- and regional- levels during the pandemic.
AFA serves as the regional focal point (RFP) of LMI, an independent and open-access land monitoring initiative that provides information on large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs). Through the LMI, stakeholders are provided reliable, up-to-date data on LSLAs, thereby stimulating debate and strengthening the position of stakeholders on land rights issues. AFA noted that the pandemic further aggravated the performance of governments in distributing land while restricting campaigns and direct actions pushing for genuine reform. In the Philippines, for instance, the passage of the Anti-Terror Law threatened the rights of land rights defenders and hampered community organizing efforts and paralegal consultations.
Amidst these issues, LMI activities continued through digital platforms. For instance, community validation activities with indigenous peoples, farmers, and fisherfolk who are affected by the Aurora Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (APECO) LSLA was held via Zoom. Community members reviewed and validated the advocacy maps developed by the Pambasang Kilusan ng Samahang Magsasaka (PAKISAMA), which serves as the National Land Observatory (NLO) in the Philippines. In addition, PAKISAMA launched its report on the overlaps of LSLAs, key biodiversity areas (KBAs), and protected areas (PAs) in the country last February 2021, which stimulated the debate on how to address the policy gaps to protect these areas.
At the regional level, AFA leveraged its LMI work to develop its 5-year strategic plan to promote the secure tenurial rights to natural resources, which was adapted during its General Assembly held last 5 October 2020 via Zoom. It also used LMI data in its contributions/ interventions in UN FSS Independent Dialogues and the Youth and Land Asia platform. The RFP will also be releasing its report on land investments in oil palm plantations this year, which was developed during the pandemic.
A copy of AFA’s Landac presentation can be found here: Land_Matrix_Initiative_AFA_Experience
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