The Multi-Actors Platform on Land Governance and Responsible Agricultural Investment in Liberia (MAP Liberia Land Platform) in collaboration with the Government of Liberia through the Liberia Land Authority (LLA) and relevant state actors working in the land and agriculture sectors, will convene in Ganta, Nimba County September 23-24, 2024, to kick-off the second National Land Conference (NLC) on land rights and land reform in Liberia.
According to a MAP Liberia press release, the second NLC will review the progress made thus far since the hosting of the first National Land Conference in March 2022 in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County.
Organized under the theme: “Looking backwards, looking forward after the first national land conference,” the second NLC will provide a forum for all stakeholders to review the implementation of the land reforms and land-based investments with respect to livelihood and food security. The gathering will identify progress, emerging challenges and opportunities for advancing and fast-tracking the land reform process in Liberia.
Over 200 delegates representing various institutions including government agencies, CSOs Working Group on Land Rights Reform, academia and community based organizations (CBOs), Community Land Development Management Committee (CLDMC), national and international organizations, as well as donor partners are expected to be in attendance.
Key topics will include: Customary Land Formalization, Land Rights of Women, Youth and People with Disabilities, Land Administration and Registration, Conflict around Land Using the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Approach, Decentralization of Land Services, Linkage of Land Rights to Responsible Agricultural Investment with Emphasis on Livelihood and Food Security, among others.
The conference will also identify and promote improvements in policies and practices in agricultural investment linked to land, agriculture and food security, identify and analyze challenges, and plan the way forward in generating concrete commitments and practical recommendations for fast tracking implementation of the Land Rights Act of Liberia.
Meanwhile, the President of the Republic of Liberia His Excellency Joseph N. Boakai is expected to lead a high-power government delegation to Ganta, Nimba County to officially launch the conference on September 24, 2024.
The conference will devote an entire day to Women Land Rights Day, in which several organizations including national and rural women organizations and their international partners will combine efforts to review the status of women land rights and define a roadmap. The Women’s Land Rights Day will be held under the theme: Collaborative solutions: “Partnership for Advancing Women’s Land Rights”.
The Conference Organizers are eager to work with media institutions to ensure full coverage of the conference’s deliberations and the resultant communique which will be signed by delegates, for advancing land reform and responsible agricultural investment in Liberia.
The organizers are thankful for those institutions who have so far pledged their commitment to support the conference and encourage others who have not done so to make good their intentions, as time is of the essence. Meanwhile, the conference organizers would like to announce that the Conference will be attended only by Delegates who will receive an official invitation.
