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Land Rights

Three women look out on a landscape in Colombia

Tetra Tech provides industry-leading expertise in land and resource governance and effective stakeholder engagement to resolve challenges and tap into opportunities related to access, use, and control of land and other natural resources.

Our interdisciplinary team of land experts has implemented more than 100 projects and complex activities related to urban and rural land governance in 30 countries, including those that are amid or recovering from crises like conflict and natural disaster.

Tetra Tech addresses complex land and resource governance reforms through technical assistance, outreach and communications, skill building, and design of assessments, analytical tools, and sound monitoring and learning activities. Establishing secure and documented property rights is essential for inclusive economic growth, environmental sustainability, conflict mitigation, and development that leaves no one behind.

A woman in Colombia stands in a doorway holding her registered land certificate, supported by the Tetra Tech-led land rights program

Land Governance and Administration

Tetra Tech partners with governments to develop their capacity to plan, manage, implement, and sustainably maintain land administration systems. We work with national and local government institutions, including customary and community authorities.

  • Technical assistance in land policy development and legal research
  • Establishment of cadaster and land registration systems and information updating
  • Land rights documentation and registration
  • Strengthening legal frameworks to support inclusivity, address negative social norms, and promote representation of women and underrepresented groups in governance structures
A group of four people in Zambia stand in a field of crops looking at a tablet containing land use data, supported by the Tetra Tech-led land and resource governance project

Recognition of Customary Tenure

To help communities to protect their land and resources, Tetra Tech provides community self-identification and boundary demarcation services, participatory land use planning, and formation and training of representative land governance bodies. We use open-source data collection, community mapping, and participatory engagement to support customary tenure activities.

  • Indigenous Peoples and local communities, including pastoral communities, rights recognition
  • Community self-identification and boundary demarcation services
  • Gender equitable and socially inclusive approaches to transform negative social norms
  • Participatory land use planning
  • Formation and training of representative land governance bodies
A closeup shot of two hands holding a paper with gold dust and nuggets, supported by the Tetra Tech-led responsible minerals program in Central African Republic

Critical Minerals and Energy Transition

Tetra Tech works with governments, communities, civil society organizations, and the private sector on a just energy transition to transform mineral wealth into environmentally and socially sound economic growth and development.

  • Improving mineral rights policies and practices
  • Strengthening responsible minerals assurances through due diligence, chain of custody, and certification
  • Strengthening economic development opportunities for communities involved in and affected by mining
  • Addressing environmental, social, and governance (ESG), as well as security and human rights risks
A community gathers to support the launch of a pastoral planning group in Ethiopia

Responsible Investment in Land

Our land experts facilitate responsible land-based investment to optimize outcomes for communities and investors.

  • Applying Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) when engaging communities
  • Building communities’ ability to negotiate and enforce agreements
  • Participatory and inclusive approaches to document land and resource rights
  • Empowering women and expanding their access to land for agroforestry supply chains
  • Strengthening land security for rural populations, reducing risks, and generating benefits for and trust between communities, companies, and government
Two people in the forest look at a tablet together, supported by a Tetra Tech-led land governance program in Solomon Islands

Stability, Dispute Resolution, and Conflict Mitigation

Tetra Tech works with communities and governments where tenure and property rights are unclear to avert disputes over land and natural resources that may escalate into conflict and trigger migration of affected people.

  • Participatory research
  • Facilitating stakeholder dialogues
  • Shaping improved local land use planning and disaster mitigation
  • Strengthening local customary and formal dispute resolution mechanisms

Connect with us. Reach out to our international development experts.

Our featured land rights highlights

A man shares results of the mapping and demarcation process in East Bale Zone with a small group

Strengthening Pastoral and Urban Land Rights in Ethiopia

Aerial view of farmlands in West Africa during rainy season

The Limited Impact of International Principles on Tenure Security in Africa

Women farmers tilling their land for potato crops

Securing Land Rights for Female Farmers in India

Tetra Tech and USAID established Community Resource Boards to manage natural resources in Zambian Game Management Areas

The Voice of Leadership: Women in Wildlife in Zambia

Responsible artisanal gold solutions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

Tetra Tech Supports “The Journey of Gold” Virtual Reality Experience

A Zambian woman holds her legal property documents as a result of TGCC project interventions

The Role of Land Rights Documentation in Promoting Sustainable Land Use Practices

Be part of our work in land rights

Our people around the world are supporting our mission and vision to design and deliver sustainable and impactful development solutions. Work with us at Tetra Tech!

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