Almost 60 per cent of customary lands mapped across 64 countries are under growing pressure from industrial and commercial activities, with renewable energy projects emerging as the single largest source of overlap, according to a major new global assessment.
The report, The Status of Land Tenure and Governance, published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Land Coalition (ILC) and the Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), highlights mounting competition over lands that are critical for climate stability, biodiversity and community livelihoods.
The assessment shows that 42 per cent of the customary territories under pressure overlap with renewable energy, RE, developments, including utility-scale solar parks, wind farms and biofuel plantations. Oil and gas extraction accounts for 18 per cent of the overlaps, while mining contributes 8 per cent. The remaining share stems from infrastructure corridors, industrial agriculture, conservation and carbon offset projects, and other commercial land uses.
The findings signal a structural shift in global land competition. While extractive industries such as oil, gas and mining continue to exert pressure, the rapid expansion of land-intensive renewable energy is now a dominant force shaping customary territories.
This trend is particularly significant because customary lands account for roughly 42 per cent of the world’s land surface and include some of the planet’s most intact forests, peatlands, savannahs and biodiversity hotspots. These areas store vast amounts of irrecoverable carbon and provide critical ecosystem services, while underpinning livelihoods, food systems and cultural identity for Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
The report warns that the global push for decarbonisation, conservation and green infrastructure could unintentionally reproduce patterns associated with earlier land rushes unless land governance safeguards are strengthened.
Across many countries, customary tenure systems remain partially recognised or undocumented. Of the world’s total land area, only 35 per cent is formally documented, while 55 per cent remains undocumented and tenure status is unclear for another 10 per cent.
Although legal reforms inspired by frameworks such as the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests, VGGT, have expanded recognition in some regions, large areas remain vulnerable to reallocation, concessions or land-use conversion.
Customary landholders occupy 5.5 billion hectares globally. Yet only 8 per cent of global land is documented as owned by Indigenous Peoples and customary communities, while 21 per cent remains unrecognised by governments. In sub-Saharan Africa, 73 per cent of land is held under customary tenure, but just 1 per cent is formally recognised as such.
Where tenure rights are unclear, communities face heightened risks of displacement, restricted access to forests and grazing lands, and weakened local governance authority.
The report also underscores broader tenure insecurity trends. Data from Prindex 2024 show that 23 per cent of the global adult population, about 1.1 billion people, fear they could lose their land or housing within five years, up from 19 per cent in 2020. The sharpest increases are linked to conflict, economic instability and financial pressures.
Despite growing international attention, implementation of land reforms remains uneven. Since the adoption of the VGGT in 2012, 71 countries, 36 per cent of the global total, have undertaken some form of land reform, with 27 explicitly referencing the guidelines. Frameworks such as the Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy in Africa have also shaped national policy shifts.
Yet uptake of responsible land governance principles remains limited in practice.
States legally own more than 64 per cent of global land. In operational terms, 42 per cent is held under customary systems, 18 per cent privately owned and 28 per cent publicly managed by governments.
Gender disparities remain pronounced. Across 108 countries, 48 per cent of men reported being sole or joint homeowners in 2024, compared to 40 per cent of women, both figures marking declines since 2020.
In agriculture, men are more likely than women to own or hold secure rights to land in 43 of 49 reporting countries, with gender gaps exceeding 20 percentage points in nearly half. Nearly half of 91 reporting countries have adopted limited, or no legal measures aligned with Sustainable Development Goal indicator 5.a.2 on women’s land rights.
Young people also report significantly higher levels of tenure insecurity, facing barriers such as delayed inheritance, land fragmentation, rising land prices and limited access to capital.
The report finds that weak land data systems are undermining reform efforts. Land tenure data are among the least available globally, with an average availability score of just 16 out of 100 across 105 countries assessed in 2022. Only 12 countries have reported on all three core land-related SDG indicators, 1.4.2, 5.a.1 and 5.a.2.
Improving land data, including through citizen-generated and community-led mapping initiatives, is critical to strengthening accountability and accelerating progress towards global development and climate goals, the authors say.
Secure land rights underpin agricultural productivity, climate resilience, biodiversity protection and access to finance. Customary lands store significant carbon stocks and overlap extensively with key biodiversity areas.
With land central to climate mitigation, food systems transformation and social equity, the report calls for scaling up implementation of existing frameworks, expanding documentation, strengthening women’s land rights protections and investing in transparent data systems.
Without accelerated action, it cautions, the gap between policy ambition and lived reality will widen, deepening inequality and complicating efforts to meet global sustainability targets.