At the 2025 World Bank Land Conference, global experts underscored the urgent need for fair and inclusive land governance to tackle climate change, food insecurity, and biodiversity loss. The Land for Life initiative highlighted the power of collaboration over competition in shaping sustainable, people-centred land solutions.
Several hundred participants from governments, development partners, academia, the private sector and the civil society from around the world came together in Washington DC discuss, learn and “move from awareness to action”.
June 04 2025
by Samira Ayari and Anna Schreiber
From climate change to biodiversity protection, sustainable food systems to energy transitions – what do all these global issues have in common? They all depend on land. A lot of land. Yet, in many countries, land ownership and access remain poorly governed. Without effective land governance, we risk undermining global progress across all these critical sectors.
This was one of the central takeaways from the World Bank Land Conference 2025, held in Washington, D.C., where hundreds of practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and civil society members gathered to exchange knowledge and strategies.
Land for Life and the Global Stage
Land for Life supports people-centred land governance in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, and Ethiopia. Using a multi-stakeholder approach, we bring together civil society, government, the private sector, research and communities to jointly advance land governance that is aligned with international standards and the right to food. Our participation in the 2025 World Bank Land Conference was an opportunity to showcase our approach, engage in strategic dialogue, and strengthen partnerships for inclusive land governance.
The World Bank Land Conference is a global forum on land governance, bringing together participants from governments, development partners, academia, the private sector and civil society. The 2025 edition focused on moving “from awareness to action” and showcased strategies for securing land tenure and scaling reform, especially in relation to the climate crisis.
WHH/Land for Life Co-hosted a Partnership Side-Meeting
Land for Life participated not only to showcase our work on inclusive land governance and learn from others, but also to engage in strategic dialogue with key partners. Together with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), we co-hosted a partnership side-meeting titled “Strengthening Partnerships for Inclusive Land Reforms.” Our goal: identify opportunities for concrete partnerships and collaboration, and discuss how to better coordinate and map land reform initiatives to become more effective and increase impact.
Strategic Partnership
Our joint strategic meeting with FAO, RVO, and other actors – including the World Bank, the International Land Coalition, Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), UN-Habitat, and the African Union – highlighted the shared need for better coordination in the land sector. The group endorsed our mapping initiative aimed at identifying overlaps and synergies between land reform efforts at both the country and continental level.
The discussion reaffirmed key enabling factors for joint action – especially the importance of government leadership and it laid the basis for future collaboration and joint programming. We also shared our partnership initiative at the Global Donor Working Group on Land (GDWGL), where our proposed approach to mapping and coordination was well received and may be formally integrated.
The atmosphere at the conference differed from previous years. Visa issues meant many name badges were never collected, and the overall attendance number was lower than in previous years. Some donor agency representatives affected by the recent political shifts were listed as “independent” attendees, highlighting the uncertainty currently surrounding development cooperation.
Despite this, the sense of solidarity was strong. Germany’s continued support stood out positively, with BMZ represented by Wencke Müller-Rilke, who emphasized that Germany remains a reliable partner for land governance, even amid domestic political transitions.
Thematic Takeaways
Beyond strategic partnership, the discussions were both broad and urgent. A major insight was the sheer scope of land demand needed to meet global goals, from carbon markets to energy infrastructure, agriculture to conservation. Much of this demand is concentrated in regions where land governance frameworks are either weak or poorly integrated into national planning.
The climate nexus dominated conversations: for example, data presented by GIGA and the Land Matrix showed that land already claimed for the voluntary carbon market equals the size of Austria, amounting to a quarter of land acquired during the global land rush of the 2010s. The Just Energy Transition also demands land, not just for renewable energy infrastructure, but for the mining of raw materials needed for green technologies.
At the same time, participants reiterated that these global land demands only become a risk where land governance is weak. Implementing land reforms, especially to safeguard the land access for vulnerable groups, like women and smallholder farmers, is still fundamental to addressing today’s global challenges.
The path forward is clear: meaningful change in land governance requires strategic partnerships and inclusive coordination. With Land for Life, we will continue to:
- Support inclusive, multi-stakeholder dialogue on land governance.
- Promote locally led land rights reforms, especially for vulnerable groups.
- Push for better coordination between governments, donors, and civil society.
In a world of shrinking resources and growing challenges, collaboration is no longer optional – it is essential. We look forward to working with our partners to create a more just and sustainable land future.