United Nations Radio

With competition for land, water and other resources increasing, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is looking for ways to better govern the use of these natural resources.

Farm land

Population and economic growth, foreign investment for large scale food production, demand for biofuels as well as urban and industrial expansion are all fueling the increased competition for land, water, forests and fisheries.

FAO says women, the disabled, illiterate and elderly are particularly vulnerable to having the land they farm arbitrarily seized because they don't have legal and social rights.

It points out that where these groups do have those rights, they are powerless to enforce them.

FAO says the consultations on guidelines for governance of land tenure will take more than a year to complete and will involve governments, the private sector, poor farmers, indigenous groups, local authorities, academia and independent experts.

Bissera Kostova, UN Radio.

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