Spanning across Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa, ILC's EMENA region stands out for its diversity in geographies, people, cultures, and the wide tapestry of land-related challenges and needs.

From the rugged highlands and crofting landscapes of Scotland, through the forested mountains of Montenegro, to the deserts of Morocco and the fertile valleys and expansive rangelands of Jordan, the EMENA region encompasses an array of landscapes and local communities. This diversity is reflected in the region’s land challenges, which cover a range of topics:

• Indigenous Rights: EMENA is home to numerous indigenous and local communities such as the Amazigh whose ancestral governance systems and rights to land are often overlooked. We support these local communities' participation and representation in land-related decision making ensuring that their voices are part of the dialogue when shaping land management policies.

• Geopolitical Conflict: Ongoing occupation and conflicts, in places like Palestine and Sudan, lead to human-rights violations and ongoing struggles for land access and security.

• Food Security & Sustainable Livelihoods: With rural depopulation and the transformation of traditional agricultural landscapes, food security remains a pressing concern. EMENA supports small-scale farmers and advocates for equitable land rights as a foundation for resilient food system.

• Pastoralism Rights: Pastoralist communities, whose mobile livelihoods depend on secure access to rangelands, face increasing threats from land grabbing and restrictive policies. EMENA works to protect their rights, recognising their important role in ecosystem restoration and food production.

• Gender Issues: Across the region, women continue to face barriers to access to land and land tenureship, as well as participation in decision-making. We are committed to advancing gender equality and empowering women in land governance

• Youth: Young people across the EMENA region face significant barriers to accessing land and participating in decision-making. They are vital to the future of sustainable, people-centered land governance.

ILC EMENA brings together community-based organisations, civil society groups, and regional networks to foster dialogue, share knowledge, and build collective strategies for transformative change. By strengthening the capacity of its members and promoting inclusive participation, ILC EMENA seeks to ensure that local people are empowered and organised to actualise their land rights.

Join us as we work towards a just, inclusive, and sustainable future for all who call the EMENA region home.

ILC EMENA Connects 

EMENA members in a consolidated, strengthened regional platform with common values and a governance structure where members work together to learn from each other, develop commitment-based initiatives on thematic issues, and focus, in solidarity, on the particular issues of each member.

ILC EMENA Mobilises 

actors with an inclusive multi-stakeholder approach, elaborated common products, such as mapping baselines, internal and external communication strategies, and built a regional constituency equipped to support, respond to, and protect land rights of local groups and communities.

ILC EMENA Influences 

governments to develop and support rural policies that are people-oriented and create employment for women and youth in rural areas.