About LandMark

Who could use LandMark?

Photo credit: CENESTA/Iran

LandMark is designed for a variety of users:

• Indigenous Peoples, communities and civil society organizations can use LandMark to build a global picture of their populations and lands, supporting their engagement with one another and increasing their visibility to Governments and other actors. The tools built into LandMark, such as printing maps of indigenous and community land boundaries, can be used to help protect their lands.
• National governments can use the platform to better recognize indigenous and community land rights, enabling public officials to compare the situation in their country with that in other countries and encourage action based on the examples of other nations.
• Companies and private investors can use the information on LandMark to better understand the land rights situation in a particular country and respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples and communities.
• Development assistance agencies can use LandMark to better target their financial support and other resources by identifying countries and regions in which indigenous and community lands are insecure and under threat.
• Researchers and academia can use the information on LandMark to better understand the positions of Indigenous and community lands in local and national contexts and in global social and environmental matters.
• Citizens and civil society groups concerned about the loss of indigenous and community lands can use the platform to check if governments and companies are targeting community land for acquisition and investment.

Why was LandMark Developed?

Photo credit: IBC/Peru

LandMark was developed to fill a critical gap in information on indigenous and community land rights. In the absence of existing publicly available information, many indigenous and community lands are invisible and therefore vulnerable. Transparency reduces the likelihood that irregular acquisitions and expropriations go unnoticed, and shines a light on the vulnerability of indigenous and community lands.

Many governments today acknowledge customary and community land rights, but few have established the strong legal protections needed to secure these tenure systems. Even with supportive legislation, few governments have effectively implemented or enforced these laws. As a consequence, Indigenous Peoples and communities, especially in Africa, Asia and Latin America, are losing their land to governments and corporations for economic development and commercial investment purposes. Many rural people are also facing a growing number of restrictions on how they use their land, which can threaten livelihoods and trigger conflicts.

Today, more Indigenous Peoples and communities are taking action to protect their lands. In some countries, communities and their representatives have successfully lobbied for legal change to recognize their land rights and provide blanket national protection for unregistered community-based rights. Many are submitting the official paperwork needed to have their lands formally registered and to obtain a land certificate or title. A growing number are filing petitions to have their concerns heard in court, and still others are taking to the streets to voice their demands.

An increasing number of Indigenous Peoples and communities are also mapping their lands. Many have effectively used their maps, even if they are not formally recognized or endorsed by the State, to protect their lands from external threats. Information and communication technologies are providing new opportunities to address threats and secure land rights. Indigenous Peoples, communities and their partners around the world are now using hand-held Global Positioning Systems (GPS), unmanned aerial vehicles (e.g., drones), and other devices to map their lands with greater ease and precision. Some governments and civil society organizations have also developed national maps or online platforms of indigenous and community lands.

LandMark provides Indigenous Peoples and communities around the world with an online global platform to let governments, development assistance agencies and others know of the lands they hold and use. It provides them the opportunity to be proactive in their efforts to protect their lands and not just reactive to imminent threats that often emerge without warning and with little time to respond in effective ways. By shining a light on collectively-held lands around the world, it will be clear to all parties that these lands are not vacant, idle or necessarily available for outsiders.

A Brief History of LandMark

In September 2013, the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI), Oxfam, and the International Land Coalition (ILC) convened the international conference—Scaling-Up Global Efforts to Securing Community Land and Resource Rights—in Switzerland. The Instituto del Bien Común (IBC) in Peru, Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara (AMAN) in Indonesia, and the World Resources Institute (WRI) co-led the conference’s “Mapping & Documentation” sessions which called for the development of a global map-based platform of Indigenous and community lands.

In February 2014, IBC, WRI and ILC convened a group of land rights organizations in Rome, Italy, to begin the process of developing LandMark. Participating groups included: AMAN, RRI, Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) in India, Philippine Association for Intercultural Development (PAFID), Forest Peoples Programme (FPP), Rainforest Foundation United Kingdom (RFUK) and Liz Alden Wily, an independent land tenure specialist. The participants agreed to organize themselves into a Steering Group to provide advice and guide the effort.

In June 2014, the World Atlas of Indigenous Peoples' Territories (WAIPT) project joined the Steering Group (WAIPT is a collaborative effort between the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Survival International (France), and Sorbonne Nouvelle University with the support of the Ile-de-France region).

In July 2015, two additional organizations joined the Steering Group – The Union of Indigenous Nomadic Tribes of Iran (UNINOMAD) and Red Amazónica de Información Socioambiental Georreferenciada (RAISG).

LandMark was launched to the public on November 10, 2015. Since then, an increasing number of voluntary contributions from a wide range of organizations and local experts has allowed LandMark to expand its geographic and thematic coverage. For the latter, several data layers were added to the platform in a major update in December 2017, including land cover change, pressures (extractive concessions) and assets (carbon stocks). In addition to the basic information already available on LandMark, these new data layers enable a better understanding and analysis of the situation of Indigenous and Community lands worldwide.

Starting in 2018, LandMark has undergone a significant structural transition from its initial informal coalition to a more formal institutional arrangement with a governance structure that includes stronger representation from indigenous- and community-led organizations as well as policy-oriented institutions (See Who is involved in LandMark).

Who is involved in LandMark?

LandMark involves many collaborators from around the world. The following tabs provide a brief description of the organizations and individuals who are involved in LandMark and their primary role in the initiative. The LandMark governance structure includes three principal organs: a Steering Group, a Secretariat, and an Advisory Group. The Steering Group is the central decision-making body. The Secretariat manages the platform on a day-to-day basis and reports to the Steering Group. The Advisory Group provides advice to the Steering Group on LandMark.

Several organizations have also supported LandMark with financial resources and other assistance (see Supporters). A summary of Data Providers can also be found in the Data section.

Steering Group meeting, Lima, Peru, June 2015. Photo credit: IBC/Peru

Steering Group

The Steering Group is the principal LandMark governance organ and the central decision-making body. It is responsible for overseeing LandMark and the work of the Secretariat. The Steering Group sets LandMark’s vision, mission, goals, policies, and strategies. Current members include:

AIPP (Asian Indigenous People’s Pact)

Headquarters: Chiang Mai, Thailand

Mission statement: The Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) is a regional organization founded in 1992 by indigenous peoples’ movements. AIPP is committed to the cause of promoting and defending indigenous peoples’ rights and human rights and articulating issues of relevance to indigenous peoples.

Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara (AMAN)

Headquarters: Jakarta, Indonesia

Mission Statement: AMAN is an independent organization of Indigenous peoples fighting for the enforcement of customary rights and the sovereignty of Indigenous peoples as a whole, including realization of justice and prosperity in Indigenous people’s lives, Political sovereignty, economic independence, and cultural dignity for Indigenous peoples.

Centre for Sustainable Development (CENESTA)

Headquarters: Tehran, Iran

Mission Statement: CENESTA works for the restoration of the rights and responsibilities of Indigenous Peoples (IPs) and traditional local communities (LCs) over their natural resources and customary territories and their conservation (preservation, sustainable use and restoration) in the context of ICCAs*. Special emphasis is on working with the 700 indigenous nomadic tribes of Iran as well as farmers, fisher folks, forest peoples, and other traditional indigenous, rural and urban communities.

COICA (Organisation of the indigenous peoples of the Amazon Basin)

Headquarters: Quito, Ecuador

Mission statement: COICA is an umbrella organization of several indigenous organizations of the Amazon Basin. Its objectives are to promote and develop mechanisms that encourage the interaction of Indigenous groups with its network, to defend their right to self-determination, to coordinate the actions of its members on an international level, to fortify and cultivate mutual collaboration between all Indigenous peoples of the region, and to promote the cultural vindication of its members.

Instituto del Bien Común (IBC)

Headquarters: Lima, Peru

Mission Statement: IBC works across landscapes of the central and northern Andean Amazon, on projects related to territorial planning, governance of the commons, preservation of the environment, sustainable development, respect for the rights and culture of indigenous and non-indigenous peoples and promotion of scientific and local knowledge. IBC has been mapping community lands in Peru for 15 years and is a member of the RAISG mapping group for the Amazon Basin.

International Land Coalition (ILC)

Headquarters: Rome,  Italy

Mission Statement: ILC is a global alliance of over 152 civil society and intergovernmental organizations working together across the globe to put people at the center of land governance, for a just, equitable and inclusive world in which land rights are secure, and poverty is eradicated. The change we seek is defined in our 10 commitments to jointly realise people-centred land governance. All members individually and collectively contribute to the realisation of these commitments in policy, practice and agenda setting at their respective levels of action.

OPDP (Ogiek People Development Programme)

Headquarters: Nakuru, Kenya

Mission statement: OPDP exists to advocate for the participation, self-determination and human rights of the members of the Ogiek community, but also more broadly to promote and protect the cultural, socio-economic, political, environmental and collective rights for sustainable development of all the indigenous ethnic minorities and marginalized communities in Kenya.

Philippine Association for Intercultural Development, Inc. (PAFID)

Headquarters: Quezon City, Philippines

Mission Statement: An association of people interested in the problems of cultural minority groups. PAFID is engaged in the development of Indigenous social organizations, management of ancestral domains, community-based natural resources management planning, community mapping, agro-forestry, technical services, policy advocacy and more.

PIDP (Programme intégré pour le développement du peuple pygmée au Kivu), representing also REPALEAC (Réseau des Peuples Autochtones et Communautés Locales pour la gestion durables des écosystèmes forestiers d'Afrique)

Headquarters: Goma, DRC ; Yaoundé, Cameroon

Mission statement: PIDP works to defend the human rights of the indigenous pygmy peoples of Bambuti, free of discrimination and marginalization, while living in unity and solidarity with other communities. Most notably, PIDP promotes their right to civic participation, socioeconomic and cultural rights, as well as the rights to their land so that they may actively participate in their emancipation through their self-determination in a healthy environment.

REPALEAC is a network of Indigenous and Local Peoples which aims to increase and ensure their participation in the management of forest ecosystems in Central Africa, by carrying out actions to defend their rights and the sustainability of the ecosystems to which they are intimately linked and on which their survival depends.

Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK)

Headquarters: London, UK

Mission Statement: RFUK works to support Indigenous peoples and traditional populations of the world’s rainforest in their efforts to protect their environment and fulfil their rights to land, life, and livelihood by assisting them with: 1) Securing and controlling the natural resources necessary for their long term well-being and managing these resources in ways which do not harm their environment, violate their culture or compromise their future; 2) Developing means to protect their individual and collective rights and obtain, shape and control basic services from the State.

Rights and Resource Initiative (RRI)

Headquarters: Washington, DC, USA

Mission Statement: RRI works together with both Indigenous peoples' and community organizations, civil society, Governments, international institutions, and the private sector to promote and accelerate global efforts to improve local livelihoods, reform forest tenure and governance, combat poverty, mitigate the effects of climate change, and deliver sustainable development. RRI promotes greater global commitment and action towards policy, market and legal reforms that secure their rights to own, control and benefit from natural resources, especially land and forests.

WAMIP (World Alliance of Pastoralist Communities and Mobile Indigenous Peoples)

Headquarters: Ahmedabad, India

Mission statement: The World Alliance of Mobile Indigenous Peoples (WAMIP) is a social movement of grassroot organizations of nomadic peoples and communities sharing pastoralism with various forms of mobility as a livelihood strategy while conserving biological diversity and using natural resources in a sustainable way. The mission of WAMIP is to assist and empower mobile indigenous peoples throughout the world to maintain their mobile lifestyles in pursuit of livelihoods and cultural identity, to sustainably manage their common property resources and to obtain the full respect of their rights.

World Resources Institute (WRI)

Headquarters:  Washington, DC, USA

Mission Statement: WRI’s Land and Resource Rights (LRR) project works with governments, civil society organizations, development agencies, and other actors to strengthen communities’ land, resource, and property rights as a path to poverty reduction, sustainable development, and environmental management. Operating across Latin America, Africa, and Asia, LRR’s work focuses on connections between land and equitable access to forests, food, and water.

Jagdeesh Rao Puppala - Common Ground initiative

Based: India

Mission Statement: Jagdeesh is CEO of Living Landscapes, based in Hyderabad, India. Living Landscapes is the anchor organisation of the Common Ground initiative, a collaborative systems change effort in the domain of environmental governance and rural livelihoods in India. As a Collaborative of partners, Common Ground works on system level barriers and opportunities, so that entrepreneurial action by multiple actors, organisations and initiatives is accelerated and multiplied. The focus is on “field setting,” i.e., seeding the ecosystem with change leaders and catalysing collaborative action by setting in place institutional mechanisms and social infrastructure, that allow multiple actors to build on top of these elements, creating potential for scale and amplified impact. 

Liz Alden Wily, Independent Land Tenure Specialist

Based: Kenya

Mission Statement: Liz works independently as analyst, policy adviser and practitioner, mainly in Africa, and contributes to various global and regional initiatives, with the overall target to see one billion poor customary landholders acknowledged as legal owners of family and community lands by 2030.

Fabrice Dubertret, Geographer

Based: France

Mission Statement: Fabrice is a geographer, focusing his research on the political use of participatory mapping by indigenous peoples to secure their land rights. More specifically, he analyses the critical role global transparency of information regarding collective land claims – often invisible on official maps – can play in securing indigenous rights to their lands, territories, and resources.

Secretariat

The LandMark Secretariat is responsible for the day-to-day management of the platform. Its principal roles include the development and implementation of annual work plans and budgets, fundraising, engaging indigenous people and other local communities and their representatives in the governance of LandMark, and supervising the technical management and administration of the online platform. The current LandMark Secretariat consists of:

International Land Coalition (ILC)

Established: 1995

Headquarters: Rome,  Italy

Mission Statement: ILC is a global alliance of over 152 civil society and intergovernmental organisations working together across the globe to put people at the centre of land governance, responding to their needs and protecting the rights of those who live on and from the land.

Interests: As a global and united alliance, members of the ILC envision a just, equitable and inclusive world in which land rights are secure, and poverty is eradicated. The change we seek is defined in our 10 commitments to jointly realise people-centred land governance. All members individually and collectively contribute to the realisation of these commitments in policy, practice and agenda setting at their respective levels of action. 

World Resources Institute (WRI)

Established: 1982

Headquarters:  Washington, DC, USA

Mission Statement:  To move human society to live in ways that protect Earth’s environment and its capacity to provide for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations.

Interests:  WRI’s Land and Resource Rights (LRR) project works with governments, civil society organizations, development agencies, and other actors to strengthen communities’ land, resource, and property rights as a path to poverty reduction, sustainable development, and environmental management. Operating across Latin America, Africa, and Asia, LRR’s work focuses on connections between land and equitable access to forests, food, and water.

Advisory Group

The Advisory Group is an informal body which provides strategic guidance and ad-hoc advice to the Steering Group and the member organisations’ representatives, and to the Secretariat and its member organisations and representatives. The Advisory Group provides the Steering Group with specific advice and feedback relevant for adjusting the priorities and work of LandMark, such as suggesting revisions in Landmark’s direction, the platform’s presentation of data, and data-sourcing. The advice will help ensure that the platform is most useful for the interests of indigenous peoples and other local communities. The Advisory Group provides Indigenous Peoples and other communities a voice at high levels in LandMark and, as such, is critically important to the success of the platform.

At the time being, the advisory group is still under construction.

Supporters

Several organizations have supported LandMark with financial resources and other assistance.  These include:

Present supporters

• Ford Foundation
• Bezos Earth Fund
• FAO – AIM4Forest

Past supporters

• Climate and Land Use Alliance
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands
• Irish Aid
• Good Energies Foundation
• Rights and Resources Initiative

What does it mean to have a map?

Photo credit: CENESTA/Iran

"More indigenous territory has been claimed by maps than by guns. This assertion has its corollary: more indigenous territory can be defended and reclaimed by maps than by guns."[1]

Maps are a powerful way of sharing information, shaping decisions and changing behavior. Cartography--the study and practice of making maps--builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively. This medium of representation is a tool to 'write the world'.[2] Geography and maps have had an important role in colonial contexts, largely used to affirm Terra Nullius - that lands and resources were idle and without a master.[3] Today, most Indigenous Peoples and local communities and their lands are not represented on official maps and as a consequence, are invisible to the world. An increasing number of communities, however, are now documenting the lands and resources they hold and occupy--using their maps to counter the frequent threats of dispossession that they face.

While some Indigenous Peoples and communities prefer to stay isolated, remaining invisible can have significant costs. Where governments may not have the capacity or the political will to map collectively-held lands, community-based mapping can be a political tool for advocacy. These mapping initiatives can help Indigenous Peoples and communities to self-define and self-represent their lands. This use of "spatial information technologies provides tools for telling alternative spatial stories, for offering voices to peoples located at the periphery of the developing world".[4]

Maps generated through bottom-up approaches can help protect indigenous and community land from threats, but there are political limitations. Some governments have banned the practice of community-based mapping while others have restricted their use in courts of law (recognizing only map that have been produced by officially-licensed and authorized surveyors).[5]

Nevertheless, community mapping initiatives have expanded significantly in the past few decades. The Americas have a long history of community land mapping, triggered by the progressiveness of many governments and of the Inter-American Human Rights System to begin formally recognizing Indigenous Peoples and local communities’ collective rights over their land and natural resources. Following the same pattern, community mapping initiatives can now be found in all regions of the world. With the support of numerous local and international NGOs, these initiatives are playing an important role in strengthening the tenure security of indigenous and community lands.

 "Mapping processes can be used to help secure access to land and natural resources, to facilitate the management of these resources and to support community advocacy on land-related issues. In other words, mapping is increasingly playing a role in the empowerment of people and communities."[6]

References

[1] Nietschmann, B., 1995. "Defending the Miskito reefs with maps and GPS." Cultural Survival Quarterly 18 (4): 34-36.

[2] Wainwright, J., J. Brian, 2009. "Cartography, territory, property: postcolonial reflections on indigenous counter-mapping in Nicaragua and Belize." Cultural geographies 16: 153-178.

[3] Piper, K. 2002. "Cartographic Fictions." New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

[4] Fox, J., 1998. "Mapping the commons: the social context of spatial information technologies." The Common Property Resource Digest, no 45, p. 1-4.

[5] Mwanundu, S., IFAD, 2009. "Good practices in participatory mapping: A review prepared for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)." Rome, IFAD. Bauer, K., 2009. "On the politics and the possibilities of participatory mapping and GIS: using spatial technologies to study common property and land use change among pastoralists in Central Tibet." Cultural Geographies 16: 229-252.

[6] Di Gessa, S., 2008. "Participatory mapping as a tool for empowerment: Experiences and lessons learned from the ILC network." International Land Coalition.