Improving Openness and Transparency in Land-Based Investments: Goals, Challenges and Solutions

On occasion of the Open Government Partnership Global Summit which will be held in Paris from the 5ht to the 9^th December, the Global Donor Working Group on Land is co-organizing a side-event in the form of an interactive roundtable in order to discuss the ways of improving openness and transparency in land-based investments. The event, Improving Openness and Transparency in Land-Based Investments: Goals, Challenges and Solutions  will bring diverse stakeholders together to share perspectives and debate  a range of efforts to promote transparent land governance and advance effective use of disclosed information at the global, national, and local levels. The specific objectives of the session include:

1. To provide an opportunity for stakeholders to discuss goals, challenges and solutions, including innovative tech platforms, regarding the promotion of greater transparency in land-based investments,

2.  To share relevant learnings, including the experiences of governments that have committed to greater transparency,

3. To interrogate how transparency in land-based investments can support more effective stakeholder engagement and more meaningful public participation,

4.   To jointly identify ways to advance greater transparency, accountability and inclusiveness in land-based investments.

Selected initiatives and tools that will be presented and discussed are:

• OpenLandContracts.org – an online repository of investment contracts for agriculture and forestry projects

• The Land Matrix – a global and independent land monitoring initiative

• Global Forest Watch – a forest monitoring and management initiative promoting the use of open spatial data