Solutions for Land, Housing, and Health ● www.cloudburstgroup.com

From Commitments to Improved Practice

Karol C. Boudreaux

Land Tenure and Resource Rights Practice Lead

Karol.Boudreaux@cloudburstgroup.com

Company Commitments

• Let’s recognize progress

• Commitment language tracks UNGP

Land rights, not just for Indigenous People,are increasingly recognized under the human rights umbrella

• We are at early stages

We’re not there yet…

• Early assessments need to improve:• Specify the methodology being used• Look behind & beyond title documents• Identify ALL affected stakeholders• Engage with stakeholders through KII/FG discussions

• Report findings & publish your data

• Understand traditional livelihoods, access to resources• Identify which rights are at risk• Check settlement patterns, resource use against geospatial

data

Coca-Cola’s Guatemala Assessment*Concerns identified in the Assessment: • Land disputes prevalent

• Highly unequal land holdings

• History of violence against land activists

• Displacement of indigenous peoples for commercial purposes

• Poor enforcement of laws

• Industry influence on politics

Assessment Shortcomings:

• Ex-post; there is no baseline

• What is behind the titles?

• Prior consultation? Compensation?

• Do indigenous peoples’ groups agree?

• Do women’s groups agree?

• Conclusion is not supported by the evidence presented

*http://assets.coca-colacompany.com/d4/6b/1e57d9b9486092555db4aa983b43/review-on-child-and-forced-labor-and-land-rights-in-guatemalas-sugar-industry.pdf

Getting to better solutions

• Assessments need to dig deeper, adopt a tenure lens• Engage with customary & informal systems• Support participatory mapping • Recognize communities are not homogenous• Women, youth, vulnerable/minority groups often have

discrete rights & require separate, specialized engagement

• Leverage geospatial information• Work to develop partnership opportunities• Encourage host governments to address legal gaps

Additional steps to mitigate conflicts

• Pro-active• Better policies, practices, training• Multi-stakeholder processes mean you need to do stakeholder

analysis• Think small• Avoid conflict/red-flag areas

• Reactive• Support independent para-surveying, paralegals• Raise awareness of rights• Be a voice of change with the government• And ask: How can you improve the human rights situation?

Expanding resources

• Newer Guidance documents:• UNGP Reporting Framework• FAO Technical Guides for VGGT• AU/LPI’s Guiding Principles on Large-Scale Land-based Investments in

Africa• USAID’s Operational Guidelines for Responsible Land-based

Investment• French Development Agency’s Guide to due diligence of agribusiness

projects• FAO-OECD Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains • IISD Guide to Negotiating Investment Contracts for Farmland & Water• Global Witness/ILC/Oakland Institute Dealing with Disclosure • Landesa’s “Playbooks”

Looking ahead

• We should expect improved assessments • Land tenure professionals can help:• Developing enhanced HRIA modules on land rights

• As a cross-cutting issue (property, cultural heritage, livelihoods, env’t, housing)

• Creating indicators to track and measure progress against commitments

• Translating guidance into action• Engaging with activist shareholders to drive agenda • Engaging with companies to expand internal capacity

Not just to reduce risk but to truly build shared value

Thank you

Karol C. Boudreaux

Karol.Boudreaux@cloudburstgroup.com