Unlocking Land Tenure: Pathways for policy action after the triple COPs of 2024

The 2024 triple-COP year presents a key opportunity to elevate land tenure and land rights in global environmental governance. For the first time, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the UN Convention to Combat Deserti[1]fication (UNCCD), and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held their Conferences of the Parties (COPs) in the same year. This policy brief provides the first ever cross-Convention synthesis of land tenure-related outcomes, with a focus on the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs), women’s land rights, and the potential for inter-Convention cooperation. Although the UNCCD continues to be the leading forum for land tenure discussions, the CBD has made important progress through new monitoring indicators and institutional reforms. Meanwhile, the UNFCCC lags behind, raising concerns about fragmented governance and lost opportunities to integrate human rights into climate negotiations. Against a backdrop of shrinking civic space and geopolitical fragmentation, it is vital that entry points for action remain visible and accessible in order to catalyze change. This brief identifies key decisions across the triple[1]COP year and maps entry points, both direct and indirect, for coordinated advocacy, programming, and policy alignment. It offers timely guidance for decision-makers and stakeholders navigating the complex, and often contested, terrain of multilateral land governance.