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Land Rights & Spatial Planning

Open government approaches to land governance and spatial planning can help address inequalities, protect the environment and sustain peace in communities.

Overview

Formalized, transparent, and accountable land tenure empowers citizens to invest in their own communities and protect their natural resources, as well as interact peacefully with each other, private companies, and the government by reducing threats of land grabs. Likewise, when governments allow communities to participate in the management of their natural resources, those resources can become a source of significant economic benefits, helping break the poverty cycle in developing communities. These benefits are especially significant for women and other marginalized populations. In households where women own land, children are up to 10% less likely to be sick, and women save 3.8 times more income than in communities where these rights are not guaranteed.

As OGP Local grows, there is increasing interest in how land and space are used at the regional, provincial, and municipal levels. Encouraging entrepreneurship, social interaction, equal opportunities, and healthy communities is increasingly a priority in the modern era. Ensuring transparency in land use and planning decisions is essential for these goals.

More than half of all OGP members have made at least one commitment related to land management and rights. These commitments tend to be highly effective; commitments related to land management are more frequently completed and impactful than OGP commitments in other areas. According to OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism, more than one third of land and spatial planning commitments result in significant improvements to government openness.

Partners

Commitments

Resources

  1. Global Data Barometer: Land Module

    The Global Data Barometer and Land Portal teams share findings on land tenure and land use, and the uses of…

    , Outbound Link, Web Page

  2. Open Up Guide for Land Governance, Version 2

    Land Portal and Open Data Charter share how countries can collect and release land-related data to improve data quality, availability,…

    , Outbound Link, Web Page

  3. State of Open Data - Chapter 12: Land Ownership

    Tim Davies and Sumandro Chattapadhyay share how open data approaches can be used to tackle land ownership challenges.

    , Outbound Link, Web Page

  4. Why Women’s Land Rights Matter – For the Future of People and the Planet

    This infographic from Landesa explores why secure women’s land rights are urgently needed to fulfill human rights and ensure a…

    , Outbound Link, Web Page

  5. The Scramble for Land Rights: Reducing Inequity between Communities and Companies

    This report by the World Resources Institute examines discrepancies in time and costs required to obtain formal land rights and…

    , Outbound Link, Web Page

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Broken Links

How can open data help shine a light on political corruption and make political systems fairer and more inclusive? How can we further link people and data to create a chain of accountability? Explore our new report.

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Brazil

Brazil Invests in Open Government to Tackle Environmental Challenges

Investing again in the potential of open government, Brazil has committed to a number of actions to tackle environmental issues through its latest OGP action plan.

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Open Government Partnership