WHO OWNS THE
WORLD’S LAND?
A global baseline of formally
recognized indigenous and
community land rights
Ilona Coyle, Tenure Analyst
World Bank Land and Poverty Conference
Washington, D.C.
Thursday, March 17, 2016 – 10:30-12:00
Panel 12-01
Significance of the Research
• This is the first study to examine how much land is
formally recognized by national governments as owned
by or designated for Indigenous Peoples and local
communities.
• The study covers:
• 64 countries
• 82% of global land area
• All ecosystems (grasslands, agricultural lands,
forests, etc.)
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Purpose
• To estimate the gap between the area that Indigenous
Peoples and local communities have formal recognition
of their lands and the much larger area that they hold
in practice.
• To identify where progress is most needed.
• To highlight variation between different countries’
tenure regimes in terms of:
• The area of implementation and
• The strength of the rights recognized.
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Data collection and validation
• Data collection
• Collection of country level data – in house and
consultants
• Validation of national data
• Contacted 900+ people globally to request reviews
• Collected 160+ reviews
• Data was published for the 64 countries for which
sufficient, reliable data could be obtained.
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Methodology
Tenure regimes establishing ownership:
• Rights are unlimited in duration;
• Right to exclude outsiders; and
• Right to due process and compensation in the event of
expropriation.
In tenure regimes that designate lands for community control,
communities hold rights to, at a minimum:
• Access land
• Withdraw natural resources from the land, and
• Manage the land, OR exclude outsiders from the land
BUT communities do not have all rights required under the
“ownership” designation.
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The gap between formal recognition and
community-based holdings in practice
• Up to 65% of global land area is
held under customary tenure—or
50%+ excluding protected areas
(Alden Wily 2011).
• By contrast, only 18% of global
land area is formally recognized in
community-based tenure regimes.
INSERT GRAPHIC FROM ALLISON
Global Results
About 67% of results are concentrated in 5 countries—
China, Canada, Brazil, Australia, and Mexico.
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Frequency Distribution:
Number of countries at each 5% interval
In half of the countries, formally recognized indigenous and
community lands make up less than 5% of national territory.
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Breakdown by region
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Breakdown by region (2)
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Results for Low and Middle Income Countries
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Results for Fragile States
Fragile States
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Global Results
Key Findings
The area formally recognized under statutory law is much less than the
area that Indigenous Peoples and local communities hold in practice.
Rates of formal recognition of indigenous and community land rights
are low in many countries:
• Less than 5% of national land area – 50% (34 out of 64 countries)
• Less than 1% of national land area – 38% (24 out of 64 countries)
• No land area – 23% (15 of 64 countries)
Over half of the countries had no tenure regimes that recognized the
full bundle of rights associated with indigenous or community
ownership, instead providing only limited “designation” rights, if any.
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Challenges to and opportunities for communitybased tenure recognition
 Large-scale commercial investment
and opportunities to engage the
private sector.
 Combatting climate change through
community-based tenure.
 Including community-based land
rights as an indicator within the
Sustainable Development Goals.
 National reform processes.
Commercial concessions
have been issued over
40% of Peru’s land area.
Recommendations
• More legislation is needed to recognize indigenous and
community land rights.
• Existing laws need to be strengthened a more robust bundle
of rights to recognize the full rights of ownership.
• Additional focus is needed on implementation to close the
gap between the land area with formal recognition and the
much larger area held by communities in practice.
• Legislation and recognition is an essential first step;
however, many governments must also do more to honor
indigenous and community land rights in practice.
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