Who owns the land, and who gets to decide how it’s used? These questions are not just about property—they are about power, rights, and justice. In other words, it is not so much about what needs to be done, but more importantly, how we need to transform systems that benefit everyone, especially the most marginalized of voices.
These were some of the key discussion points from the recent session “Healthy land, healthy city: Rural-urban solutions for land, climate, and justice.” Hosted by Resilience Hub Bonn, UNCCD, ICLEI, in partnership with gender@international Bonn, the virtual webinar was joined by an expert panel that spoke to the difficulties and opportunities that women, youth, and marginalized groups face in their effort to get a seat at the sustainable land management table. One that acknowledges the need for participatory planning methods and intersectionality, transformative resilience, and ‘radical collaboration’ working in tandem.
1. Intersectionality and participatory planning methods
Tackling some of the biggest challenges of our time does not just start and end with land, but must also confront the prevailing systemic inequalities that disproportionately affect specific groups.
Women, particularly those in rural and marginalized communities, face compounded vulnerabilities due to limited land rights, restricted access to resources, and entrenched social and economic barriers. The wealthier, the more educated, and where you were born also play a huge part in whether essential services like healthcare, education, transportation, or sanitation are accessible. Therefore, intersectionality in healthy land initiatives that encompass age, marital status, class, religion, ethnicity, income, or migration status is crucial for them to be truly equitable. Without integrating gender transformative policies into sustainable land management and planning, solutions risk reinforcing, rather than dismantling, these disparities.
During the session, Md. Moinul Islam shared his experience as an urban planner for Narayanganj City Corporation, Bangladesh. Industrial in nature, Narayanganj is home to nearly one million inhabitants and, while experiencing a large migration shift over the years, it has become an example of taking proactive steps to ensure that plans are made jointly with marginalized communities. In line with the city’s Climate Action Plan, the first of its kind in Bangladesh, through the support of ICLEI South Asia, Narayanganj’s Community Development Committee has made conscious efforts to include youth and slum communities in their decision-making process. Sustainable Development Goals 11 and 15, and in particular, 17 have been at the heart of ensuring Narayanganj complements its growing social cohesion and green infrastructure ambition.
2. Systemic solutions and transformative resilience
Opening of the session, Dr. Tina Beuchelt, Senior Researcher, Senior Scientist and Project Leader at the University of Bonn’s Center for Development Research (ZEF) said:
“Science has proven in thousands of publications that we have more economic well-being, more peace, more development, better environmental protection, and more food security if women are involved in decision-making processes, if discriminatory norms and laws are changed, and if you achieve more gender equality.”
Indeed, intersectionality considerations that include all voices in sustainable land management are essential to embedding resilience and long-term success in land governance. These factors go beyond breaking barriers, creating a more just, inclusive world that utilizes sustainable land management as a vehicle for empowerment.
An example of such a systemic solution was put forward by Rokiatou Traoré, Founder and Executive Manager of Herou Alliance. Traoré is a social entrepreneur with a dream to turn the Sahel region into an oasis for moringa, a drought-resistant tree, by empowering women and youth and establishing sustainable moringa value chains in Mali. Planting 10 million trees is not her only goal, she also intends to establish a solid network of one million producers by 2030, providing them with a source of income while fighting water scarcity in the region. With proper training, these women producers embody transformative resilience in the circular economy by addressing a trifecta of issues surrounding land rights, agroforestry, desertification, deforestation, women’s poverty, and malnutrition in the Sahel. By integrating environmental sustainability with social equity, Rokiatou’s vision exemplifies how inclusive land management can drive lasting change—creating a future where both people and the planet flourish together.
3. ‘Radical collaboration’ and multilevel governance
At the core of the global conventions, the “how” for reducing emissions and building climate resilience and adaptive solutions has long been contested, while, at the same time, land is overlooked as a key ingredient to achieve the climate, biodiversity, and equity goals. Beyond this, it is central to the fundamentals: food and water security, and thereby, stability.
As such, land management appears to be a building block for strengthening resilience, a role that local governments happen to be well-suited to address. All these interconnections, balanced between ecosystem protection, economic prosperity, and human-centered development, position them as key actors in driving inclusive, healthy land governance. With their ability to implement policies at the community level, mobilize resources, and engage directly with diverse stakeholders, local governments play a crucial role in translating global commitments into tangible action.
“Radical collaboration,” as Andrea Meza, Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, put it, “is what we need right now to face these global challenges.” On the global stage, Meza recalled the importance of subnational governments and non-state actors at the three Rio Convention COPs held last year (the Biodiversity COP16, Climate COP29, and UNCCD COP16). Emphasis was placed on the need for the multilevel governance space to include local governments and non-state actors’ voices, underscoring that only when we address systemic solutions through an intersectional lens can we develop lasting, reciprocal benefits.
A future rooted in equity
Given the deep ties between land, climate resilience, and social equity, a holistic and inclusive approach to land planning is essential. In line with this, experiences shared by the expert speakers conveyed the urgent need to rethink land planning through an equity-responsive lens, with their insights further highlighting the fact that resilience is built by ensuring equitable access to land, resources, and decision-making power—laying the foundation for a future that benefits all voices for a healthy land, healthy city.
