Land rights, gender justice, & climate action

Across Africa, women are the backbone of smallholder agriculture, natural resource management, and community survival in the face of climate change. Yet too often, they remain sidelined from decisions about the very land they work on, the forests they protect, and the policies that shape their futures.

As African governments update their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, a critical question arises: Are women’s land rights being recognized as a foundation for climate resilience or are they once again being overlooked?

This question is at the heart of a growing movement linking gender justice, land rights, and climate action. It’s a movement powered by National Land Coalitions (NLCs) across Africa, bringing together constituency groups, grassroots groups, women’s rights organizations, and policy advocates.

Land Rights Defenders Using Climate Agendas to Push for Gender Justice

In Burkina Faso, Senegal, Liberia, South Africa and Togo women’s land rights defenders are seizing the opportunity to embed gender-equitable land tenure into climate strategies. Their work spans local struggle; securing land for women farmers in climate-smart agriculture schemes to national advocacy to insert gender equity in land governance into official NDCs. Mindful of the centrality of women land rights for sustainable climate solutions, the Global Land Catalyst of ILC is supporting processes of review of NDCs of Burkina Faso, Liberia and Togo, to push for greater consideration of land rights in general and women land rights in particular. In Togo for example, women have been able to inform the process through local and national consultations.

Policy-practice gaps persist: In Togo, despite legal reforms, over 72% of rural women hold documentation for their main property, yet they feel less secure in their land rights than men, highlighting a disconnect between legal recognition and actual empowerment. More than 66% of respondents report that men and women do not have equal inheritance rights, and land transactions often require spousal consent, limiting women’s autonomy. Meanwhile, land governance structures remain male-dominated, and women are frequently excluded from key climate adaptation decision-making bodies, undermining inclusive and equitable climate resilience efforts.

This disconnect threatens to undermine Africa’s climate resilience. Statistical evidence reinforces that securing women’s and community land rights is not just a matter of justice it’s essential for sustainability. In Togo, land degradation rose sharply from 3% to 17% between 2000 and 2019, signalling growing ecological vulnerability. While direct data on women’s land rights and climate outcomes in Togo is limited, comparative research from countries like Liberia shows that 95% of land held by local communities retains intact biodiversity, and in Burkina Faso, community-managed lands sequester significantly more carbon than unrecognized lands. These findings underscore that recognizing and securing land rights especially for women and Indigenous communities can enhance biodiversity, reduce degradation, and strengthen climate resilience.

The ILC Africa Gender Justice Charter Award: Accelerating Change

To accelerate progress, the International Land Coalition (ILC) Africa launched the Gender Justice Charter Award a recognition for members and regional platforms taking bold steps to integrate gender justice in their work.

The Charter itself, first developed in 2014 and updated in 2021, is a commitment by ILC members to dismantle discriminatory norms, challenge unjust laws, and promote gender-equitable governance at all levels.

Aligned with ILC’s 2022–2030 Strategy, the Charter calls on members to actively advance gender justice not just as a goal but as a cross-cutting principle that transforms land governance.

This year, the 2nd Edition of the ILC Africa Gender Justice Charter Award is calling for applications, with a deadline of 23 May 2025.

Apply Now → Complete the application form here

Why This Matters: Closing Policy-Practice Gaps

The Award is more than recognition; it’s an urgent call to mainstream gender justice in land and climate governance.

Africa’s climate resilience is at risk without women's secure land rights. When women are excluded from land ownership, climate-smart agriculture initiatives risk reinforcing existing gender inequalities by consolidating male control over productive resources. Restoration projects, though well-intentioned, can inadvertently displace women from customary lands if their tenure is not formally recognized. Similarly, carbon markets and conservation schemes may become new forms of “green-grabbing,” where land is appropriated under the guise of environmental protection, sidelining women’s rights and livelihoods. This disconnect is not just theoretical data from Togo, which shows that land degradation has surged from 3% to 17% between 2000 and 2019, a warning sign of ecological stress. While direct data on women’s land rights and climate outcomes in Togo is limited, evidence from countries like Liberia and Burkina Faso demonstrates that securing community and women’s land rights leads to better biodiversity retention and greater carbon sequestration. These findings make it clear: climate action that ignores women’s land rights risks doing more harm than good.

The Gender Justice Charter is a tool to counter these risks, by providing a shared accountability framework for members to embed gender equality into their organizational practices, policy advocacy, and community engagement.

A Call to Action: Sign the Charter, Apply for the Award

The road to gender justice in land governance and climate action is long. But it’s being paved by women leaders, activists, and allies who refuse to be invisible.

If your organization is part of this movement whether by supporting women to claim land rights, lobbying for gender-equitable laws, or challenging discriminatory practices this is your moment.

Sign the Gender Justice Charter. Apply for the ILC Africa Gender Justice Charter Award. Share your story.

Let’s ensure Africa’s climate future is grounded in gender equality, land rights, and justice for all.

Deadline to apply: 23 May 2025 Sign the Gender Justice Charter / Apply for the Award Here