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ILDC 2022 Agenda 07th Dec2022
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Session Organizer:  | |
 Mr. Dinesh Rabari Founding Member SAPA, MARAG |
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 Mr. Dharm Raj Joshi Nepal Steering Committee Member SAPA | |
Pastoral agriculture is a way of life for many communities in Asia and over time it has evolved and supported environmental protection of rangeland landscapes and herders’ livelihoods. Moreover, as common pool resources, and in some cases as open access resources, pasturelands whose management is based on rich and diverse traditions of indigenous knowledge of local communities, state regulations and tenure systems can contribute to the social and economic well-being of a country. Specifically, animal husbandry is the main occupation of the pastoralist communities, who are highly dependent on the commons and increased pressures by climate change and land degradation and they have difficulties or are not able to use the commons to feed their cattle during drought and other hard climate events.
Afghanistan As per government data, pastorals form two million of population in Afghanistan, however, this is a very conservative figure, and in contrast they constitute four million population, as per other surveys. Maldhari migrate to more than 2,500 kms at a stretch that extends inside of Pakistan. Historically, during winters, pastorals move from Afghanistan to Pakistan in search of the pasture. With the mounting conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the pastorals are not allowed to migrate to Pakistan. There is a deadly conflict between resident people and pastorals for grazing land. Resident people are not allowing pastoralist to take their livestock for grazing in the common pasture land, which they have been traditionally doing. There is no separate livestock department for pastoralist neither is there a Grazing Land Policy at National Level. There is no specific budget for pasture land and livestock. Afghanistan has pasture as well as forest committees; however, they are not active.
India Commons are a traditional village managed resource (land, water, forests) that provides fuel, fodder, water, fruits, and grazing to the most households in a village. 70 million hectares of land in India are under commons, and 48 to 75% of rural population depends on the commons in some ways or the other. Specifically, animal husbandry is the main occupation of the pastoralist communities, who are highly dependent on the commons for feeding their cattle. About 10% of Indian population is pastoralists, but the Policy on Commons, particularly in the context of the Pastoralists is yet prepared. Additional problems identified include: No clear institutional jurisdiction over the Commons – The biggest losers are women as studies point out that woman actually use the commons much more than men to discharge their domestic duties. While decentralization of powers and functions to the Panchayat Raj may be one systemic answer, the Panchayats are not clearly mandated about their responsibilities under any commons policy. New policy on commons may not l Nepal has a total 3.3 million hectare of the rangelands, nearly 80 % is in high hill. Of the total rangeland, about 27 % is within Protected Areas· and this part of rangeland is also at high risk due to the pressure of the local communities and unorganized grazing and tourism industry. Valuable herbs like Yarsagumba is found in rangeland therefore, there conflicts on ownership and management and there are cases of loss of human life. Furthermore, remoteness, poor management and increasing pressure of human and animals, have led to the further degradation of the rangelands. The ownership of the rangeland belongs to the government, however it is being used by the local communities therefore, there is some confusion on the management of rangeland. Similarly, there is lack of effective enforcement of bilateral agreement on transborder animal grazing with neighbouring countries and grazing fees are reported to be high.
Session Organizer: 
 Dr. Usha Ramnathan Senior Law Researcher and Human Rights Activist |
Mr. Sanjoy Patnaik |
Ms. Astha Saxena |
Ms. Rakshita Swamy |
Tenure security is closely intertwined with livelihood resilience, sustainable use of resources and social protection. Insecure land tenure is known to play a critical role in the (in)ability of local and indigenous communities to cope with the adverse impacts of climate change. Recognition of this fact, coupled with effective advocacy and mobilisation, has led countries to drive domestic policies and enact unprecedented laws (such as in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo) to transform the ability to protect community land rights. Large investments are also afoot to support community tenure, inclusive of pledges to the tune of 1.7 billion dollars being made at the COP26 summit.
For India, the situation on ground narrates a different tale. Despite supporting 350 million rural poor, common lands in India are regarded as ‘wastelands’ and are largely administered by the state. Enabling laws such as the Panchayati Raj Act or the Forest Rights Act are yet to bring a systemic change in how local communities access, use and govern their Commons. Community claims are also not firmly embedded or been institutionalised under key land legislations such as the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. Recent amendments proposed to India’s green laws such as the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 or the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 are also considered to be unfavourable. While the Indian judiciary has played an active role in protecting the interests of those seeking justice, reflections on the landmark Jagpal Singh case during the ILDC 2021 revealed that the Supreme Court’s promise of Commons is also dallying due to regulatory apathy, multiplicity of claims, complexity of the land tenure system, lack of awareness and macroeconomic pressures.
In this session, we draw from the global momentum towards secure community tenure and explore and critique the foundational norms of India’s legal framework on common lands. With the backdrop of Article 39(b) of the Constitution of India that directs “the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to subserve the common good”, the session aims to answer the following questions and challenge their underlying assumptions:
- What key challenges and opportunities exist in India in the context of safeguarding community tenure? What does experience from the ground show?
- How should community rights to land and resources be formalised and protected? Can existing global commitments and international frameworks be used to support this process?
- What role should the state play? Which institutions and mechanisms need to be established to facilitate the interface between formal state institutions and informal customary rules and practices?
The session aims to enable the land governance community to identify prospects for critical legal empowerment, strategic litigation and policy initiatives that strengthen community tenure.
Session Organizer:  | |
Ms. Yingkongshon Shaiza |
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 Ms. Prisca GonmeiProgram Manager, Rongmei Baptist Association (RNBA) |
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Ms. Akeina Gonmei |
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Mr. Dimgong Rongmei | |
Manipur is divided into valley and hilly areas. Settlement and Land owning system differs from valley to hilly regions. In valley areas most of the lands are individually owned and they have Pata (govt. Issued land document) but in the hilly regions lands are owned by the land owners also differ from Naga to Kuki. Landownership in Naga society is governed by village head that authorise and give permission for settlement in the village in a particular plot. They practice customary land tenure system which differs from village to village also have lands owned by clan (clan land), community land. In Kuki society, the village Chief has complete authority over landownership and village affaires. He is the sole owner of the land, distributes the land to the villagers and has the power to expel any villagers from the village. While land availability is still in plenty considering a comparative low density of population in the hills, access to land varies among the tribal communities under the prevailing customary tenure regimes. The land tenure systems vary across communities, clans and also many times among villages deciding access to land which is critical for livelihoods as well as resilience of hill ecosystems.
Land issue in Manipur is not different from other parts of the country. As land itself is a vast subject, land issue is one of the crucial issues facing in the society between one community to another, between neighbouring villages and also within the village. Due to improper or no demarcation of the land and no documentation conflicts arises among the tribal communities residing in the hills of Manipur. To enhance the resilience of hill ecosystems, settled agriculture and farming is required to be encouraged along with forest conservation. However, the present tenure regime provides limited incentives for the same with required tenure security and evidence required for public services entitlements and for accessing credit and insurance services remaining absent, due to lack of documentation of land relationships, extent and locations. Overlapping land tenure is the rule in the prevailing customary tenure regimes, with land relations spatially and temporally overlapping vis-à-vis uses. Customary tenure regimes also lack provisions for equal land rights for women.
Therefore considering all the above:
Efforts of RNBA over last years have brought in substantive changes around perceptions and practices of land tenure in many villages in Manipur. Entry points among customary authorities now have been carved around scope of improved tenure security around long-term land uses (viz. orchards, terraces etc.) through individual and group rights. Willingness to extend joint rights to spouses and exclusive rights to single women have been also agreed to by many village authorities, so as the provision of group rights to women SHG. Following mapping of such land tenures along with homesteads, authorities and households are now willing to explore a system of village registry with provision of land tenure certificates as evidences of documented tenure to help access public services entitlements.
The initiatives begun around documentation of customary tenure also need to continue particularly in an interdisciplinary and action research mode to bring out right and adaptive reforms around women land rights, overlapping tenure documentation and building village registry.
RNBA took up initiatives for documenting land tenure certificate which includes information of the holder, information of land/plots, existing terms and conditions followed in the village, coordinates and satellite images of the plots mapped using Survey123 app collaborating with Cadasta Foundation.
The plots are mapped by seeking the consent (Free and Prior Consent) from the villagers, land owners and Village authorities. Village authorities, Youth, women, holder and neighbours participated during mapping of plots/parcels to ensure that no conflict arises due to the mapping. Trainings on mapping were provided for the Youths in the village for assisting the Field data collectors (FDC) while collecting information and maps. This ensures participation of community in mapping process.
During the course of such engagements it is now learnt that interfacing with church leaders are also equally important as that with clan leaders, village authorities, as churches over years, have been playing critical role in mapping and recording land uses and tenures, particularly during periodic celebrations. Moreover, they are found to have strategic reformist influence over political power structure and with their receptivity to change, can play a catalytic role to reform land tenure. RNBA is also critically engage in strategic advocacy by building and strengthening state level networks, and also aiming activities around evidence building and engaging with state, financial institutions and connecting to national and international platforms.
Therefore, RNBA diligently working on putting more efforts to add values in terms of process in improving land rights of the community.
Session Organizer: 
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Ms. Joanna Dawson |
 Ms. Karishma ShelarProgramme Manager – Farms and Forests, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) |  Mr. Siddharth EdakeSenior Manager, Sustainable Landscapes and Restoration Program, WRI India |
Dr. Ruchika Singh |
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Nearly 700 million people living in rural India are dependent on forests and agriculture for their livelihoods. Nature-based solutions like forest protection and landscape restoration can help meet key socio-economic and development goals for dependent populations, while also contributing to the conservation of nature and natural resources. Inclusive landscape restoration strategies will be instrumental for India to achieve its international commitments under the Bonn Challenge, Paris Agreement to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 15.3 “land degradation neutral world”. Landscape restoration strategies also underpin key domestic targets such as the vision of doubling farmer incomes, National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture, Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture, National Bamboo Mission, and Nagar Van Udyan Yojana, among others.
WRI India’s Restoration Opportunity Atlas showcases that the opportunity is massive across India in more than 100 million hectares of land that could benefit from forest protection and landscape restoration, safely storing up to 3-4.3 gigatonnes of above-ground carbon in vegetation by 2040 (Chaturvedi et al. 2018). However, despite the potential to uptake and scale restoration in India, our assessment based on robust analysis and discussion with key stakeholders indicates that there are several barriers that need to be addressed including 1) assessing needs and building capacities to plan restoration activities, 2) improving policies, reducing barriers and shifting incentives to promote restoration, 3) delivering capital to execute restoration plans and 4) monitoring & evaluating impact of the activities undertaken.
With this background and being in tune with the current ILDC theme that that looks to see how Indian experiences and learning’s can inform the land governance discourses, decisions and actions in global south and vice versa, this session aims to discuss key barriers for landscape restoration based on robust research and on-ground experiences and seek improvement or solutions that can bolster the implementation and scaling of landscape restoration interventions to enhance rural livelihoods, build resilience and mitigate climate risks.
| Session Organizer: | |
 Mr. Sanjoy PatnaikLand and Forest Tenure Specialist, Foundation for Ecological Security |
Mr. Pradeep Sharma |
Ms. Pooja Chandran |
Ms. Namita Mishra |
Ms. Vaishnavi Rathore |
Ms. Ranjitha Kumar |
Commons (such as community forests, pastures and water bodies) constitute 25 percent of the Indian territory and provide critical support to over 350 million rural poor for their livelihoods. However, a definitive, fit-for-purpose framework to effectively govern and protect India’s Commons is lacking. Formalisation of land rights of local and indigenous communities, which is globally promoted as the pathway to achieve tenure security, livelihood resilience and ecological restoration, is seldom fulfilled. Coupled with lack of incentives, real-time information and sanctions in place for both state and non-state actors, Commons remain some of the most neglected, degraded and encroached lands in India.
However, in the recent past, several instruments have emerged that may accelerate action and mobilise change. Some of these include Panchayat Asset Registers to drive responsible and transparent land management; Prohibitory Order Books to protect common lands from diversions, and; Public Land Protection Cells to settle disputes over common land encroachments. Effective implementation of these instruments involves enhancing capabilities and resources across multiple levels as well as building on the strengths of the land information systems. However, such momentum around land monitoring, coupled with increasing demands for data-enabled policymaking, raises critical questions (such as, whose data and for what purpose?) over the opportunities and risks of open data in common land governance.
This session will explore instruments that are advancing tenure rights, the use of data as a source of empowerment and other tools and mechanisms that aim to support community-led governance of Commons. The discussions aim to address the following questions:
- Which institutions and mechanisms are emerging in different parts of India that are improving action and policy on Commons? What key challenges and opportunities can be identified?
- What kind of knowledge, data, information systems, technology, relationships and resources need to be leveraged to trigger action for enhanced governance of Commons? How can we enhance their social legitimacy?
Session Organizer:  | |
Dr Ruth Manorama |  Mr. PG GovindarajuluJeevika |
Dr L.S. Ghandi Doss |
Ms. Leelavati |
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The lack of affordable access to land and the housing crisis remain issues of concern for numerous individuals and families. This grassroots-led session will be hosted by different community-based civil society organizations working on land- and resource-related issues. It will provide a space for community leaders actively working on land-justice issues to exchange experiences and knowledge on land-governance challenges. The session will draw narratives from different urban and rural communities in acknowledgement of their diverse and distinctive struggles resulting from the changing relationships among land, people, State, and corporates.
Community leaders from different spheres will also share key strategies for building better access to land tenure and addressing landlessness in different districts of Karnataka (or different urban and rural contexts in South India). They will highlight the importance of strengthening access to tenure and implementing locally led land-use plans to conserve resources for sustainable use by all stakeholders.
The session will be jointly led and hosted by Karnataka Slumdwellers Federation, Women’s Voice, Jeevika, and Environment Support Group and Institute for Youth and Development, all of which are based in Bengaluru.
Mr. Brij K Agarwal |
Mr. Abhyudaya Saxena |
Ms. Mila Koeva |
Ms. Amy Coughenor |
The growing use and reliance on modern mapping and digital technologies in land administration mainly aims for the production and management of land tenure data. Technology has stimulated the land rights documentation globally by acknowledging partnerships and capacity building across stakeholders to drive land systems change. The impacts of technology aided land administration are also reflected in food systems, climate action, empowering local communities and women’s land rights. However its use differs based on geography and context. Therefore the session recognises the western technologies and techniques of mapping such as FFP, mobile mapping and specifically on automatic boundary detection, ethical use of technologies , colonial concepts of boundaries and property rights, assumptions around techniques of mapping and participatory data collection, a presumption of literacy (digital, spatial, technological, etc.), and the implications this conveys for practicing ‘responsible’ land administration especially in vulnerable communities, commonly informal settlements or other lands held in extra-legal or customary tenures in the global south.
Mr. Deepak Sanan |
Mr. Anshul Mishra |
Dr. Rudiger Ahrend | 
Ms. Maria Marealle |
Mr. Prashant Das, | 
Mr. James Kavanagh |
With increasing challenges of rapid urbanization, climate change and natural disasters, there is a
growing need for municipalities to invest in large-scale infrastructure that benefits all, including the
poor and most vulnerable. The New Urban Agenda (NUA) urges the development of quality
infrastructure that is resilient and resource-efficient, key for reducing risks of disasters as well as
mitigating climate change impacts. Rooted in the idea that public investments and government actions
should benefit the general public at large, governments all over the world, have explored various fiscal
and spatial planning instruments. Aligned to this idea, Land Value Capture (LVC) mechanisms have
been implemented in various countries to recover and reinvest land value increases for developing
infrastructure and amenities. Mechanisms like ‘betterment levies’ have been in existence for over a
hundred years, especially in Latin America providing valuable learnings in this regard. In addition to
augmenting investments in physical infrastructure, LVC has also proved to be an integral tool in
achieving positive social and environmental outcomes.
The successful implementation of LVC mechanisms varies in different country contexts, dependent on
land governance systems, legislative and regulatory frameworks. This year at the World Urban Forum
,Katowice, Poland, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in close
cooperation with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy (LILP), launched a Global Land Value Capture
Compendium. This compendium describes how LVC mechanisms are used worldwide (in 61
countries), focusing on aspects that are important for systematic adoption, promoting benefits, and
unpacking common challenges on the subject. GIZ contributed to this collaboration by documenting
learnings from 12 countries including Bangladesh and India.
In India, the National Infrastructure Pipeline proposes an investment of over 122 million USD over a
period of five years, 50% of which is estimated for developing regional infrastructure and about 17%
for urban infrastructure. Such investment is expected to directly impact the valuation of land in its
immediate influence zone. Successful cases globally have highlighted the importance of LVC
mechanisms for tapping such land value gains. While traditional value capture mechanisms like
taxations, duties, etc have shown some successes, newer instruments like betterment levy, land
pooling, impact fee and additional development charges have not picked up the required momentum.
Recognizing the necessity to promote faster adoption of LVC mechanisms in India, NITI Aayog is
undertaking the documentation of these mechanisms across different states.
Session Organizer: 
 Dr. Moatoshi Assistant Professor in Faculty of Law, University of Delhi |
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 Mrs. Irwin Lalmuanpuii HnamteAssistant Professor Department of Law, University of Delhi University |
This panel explores legal pluralism as a governance framework for effectively achieving developmental goals nationally, and internationally. Structural issues such as legal frameworks do not get enough focus in development discussions, and therefore this panel addresses the constitutional and administrative law issues involved in legal pluralism. The thematic areas it contributes to are gender equality, biodiversity conservation, and land management.
This panel is led by the University of Hertfordshire’s Law School and the Office of the Vice-Chancellor as part of their effort to increase international research collaboration.
Abstract – In the North Eastern region, land and its resources are individual or community owned. This system of ownership is customary and constitutionally recognized providing absolute freedom for the management and use of land and its resources. However, legal pluralism of the colonial administration continued post-independence. Thus, the colonial Regulations, Rules and Enactments continued to administer the customs and traditions of land and its resources. These colonial law which the British termed as “Administration of Justice” is an imperialistic and anthropological experiment of legal pluralism. In the wake of global challenges for sustainable development, such experimental laws may not sufficiently balance the dynamic needs of society. This paper endeavours to investigate the colonial and the existing laws interface Agenda 21 in accommodating indigenous people and their communities for sustainable management of land and environment.
Speaker – Mrs. Irwin Lalmuanpuii Hnamte, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, Delhi University
Abstract – There are many laws governing biodiversity and conservation of land and natural resources in India. Most of the well-known biodiversity hotspots exist in the rural and tribal parts of India and there is ample documentary and scientific evidence to substantiate these claims. The legal system in place in these areas play a major role in conservation and management of these natural resources. These legal systems may simply be termed folk law, indigenous law, customary law, traditional law or norms constructed by the local communities along with the statutory laws. Instances of traditional or customary law playing a pivotal role in diverse community-based management and conservation of natural resources has been shown but very few are documented. The North East region is unique and is one of the few areas in India where customary laws have been afforded formal recognition by the state statutory laws. This paper is an attempt to look at the role of community and customary law in biodiversity conservation interfacing the importance of sustainable development goals 2030.
Dr. Chamundeeswari Kuppuswamy, Senior Lecturer, Global Economy Research Lead, Hertfordshire Law School and the Office of the Vice-Chancellor, University of Hertfordshire
Abstract – Customary laws of communities in southern India are not protected in the same way that they are in states covered by Schedule VI of the Indian Constitution. Research was conducted into the existence and operation of customary law in a Non-Schedule VI area in South India and many insights on customary law relating to land were derived from this study. This paper presents some of the findings, particularly with respect to female land ownership, and draws parallels with literature on women land ownership in areas within Schedule VI. The paper concludes that in the case of certain sections of the non-Schedule population, land ownership is more governed by customary laws than otherwise, and therefore the neglect of debate about what these laws are, and how to reform of customary laws in relation to land ownership in the non-schedule regions, adversely impacts these sections of the population, i.e. women. This issue has a detrimental effect on development goals in this region. But customary laws can strengthen existing prejudices and hinder gender equality too. Checks and balances, both internal as well as external are needed for customary laws to provide local justice, and be bereft of prejudice and age-old systems of patriarchy.
Session Organizer:  | |
|  Mr. L K Areeq |
Ms. Bhargavi S Rao |
Mr. Leo Saldanha |
Ms. Melinda Lis Maldonado |
Mr. Rajeev Gowda |
Mr. Vinod Vaysulu
Over the past few years, frequent floods and water logging have disrupted lives and livelihoods in Bengaluru. The unusually heavy rainfall in 2022 demonstrated the “cascade” that disruptions in critical infrastructure in one location cause in multiple sites and sectors across the metropolis. Bengaluru’s is not an isolated experience. Several urban and rural areas in India are witnessing changes in rainfall patterns, more intense rainfall, and diminishing water availability, which, in turn, negatively affect forests, land and natural resources, and the livelihoods of most vulnerable people in the country. The scale of flood risk in many cities is now so significant that no single solution will provide sustainable resilience. The lessons learnt have important implications both in terms of land-use management and environmental externalities.
This session will examine different flood-related experiences and the learnings from them. It will also highlight the linkages between land-use management, floods, climate change, and sustainable development. It will throw light on the importance of long-term sustainable land-use management practices, and of incorporating lessons learnt from similar experiences within the metropolis and elsewhere. It will also attempt at offering a range of solutions, and of discussing ways and means to improve sustainable use of land and natural resources.
The session will be hosted by the Environment Support Group (ESG), Bengaluru, in collaboration with the Institute for Youth and Development (IYD), Bengaluru, and others. Panelists will include representatives of civil society, researchers, and social and environmental justice advocates.
Dr. Kundan Kumar |
Ms. Sushmita |
Mr. Tushar Dash |  Mr. Ishan AgrawalGeneral Manager-Programs for Ecological Security |
Indigenous peoples’ groups across the world pointed out during CoP26 that despite 80% of the planet’s biodiversity surviving in their territories, they were ignored in the climate dialogues. India is among the top ten countries most vulnerable to climate change. An existential crisis exists for the hundreds of millions of its marginalised people living in climate vulnerable landscapes including the particular effects of climate related events in the lives of indigenous- women, children and other sexual minorities from Adivasi and forest dwelling communities.
India vouched for inclusivity with other Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDCs) at the CoP26 conference. In his COP26 speech, PM Modi proposed a ‘One-word movement’—L.I.F.E. which he described as Lifestyle For Environment. During CoP27, India has reiterated its commitment to the LIFE principles as well as supported initiatives such as the one on early warning systems. India updated its INDCs in August 2022.
Of particular interest to the issues of climate change mitigation and adaptation are the NBS such as forests. It is estimated that almost a third of greenhouse gas mitigation required to avert catastrophic climate change will come from “nature-based solutions” (NBS) including protecting and restoring forests, peatlands, afforestation, blue carbon, improving agricultural practices etc.
India too has a component of land and forestry based targets as part of its INDC commitment. This discussion will look at the implications of this target for India’s forest communities, as well as the opportunities presented by some its legislations- FRA and PESA- to offer climate solutions through tenure security and strengthening of resource governance. The discussion will highlight narratives and case studies where climate action was carried out in a bottoms up and decentralised manner and the scope for such actions when communities’ rights are recognised.
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Prof. A Narayana |
 Mr. Zanofer IsmalebbeChief – Knowledge Management, UNOSSC |  Dr. Nivedita HaranIAS (Retd)Ex-Addl Chief Secretary, Kerala and Faculty, JNU |
 Mr. Pranab Ranjan ChoudhurySecretary ILDC ,Founder NRMC-CLG(Intellecap Subsidiary) |
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Ms. Anaclaudia RossbachSession Organizer:  | |
Mr. Gustavo Marulanda |
Ms. Rocío del Pilar Peña Huertas |
Mr. Bryan Triana Ancinez |
Ms. Ana María Santofimio |
Ms. Margarita Varón |
