IComunales presents new Landex shadow report for Spain at annual meeting

iComunales kicked off its 9th annual seminar on communal land conservation on 16-17 March 2026 in Valsaín, Segovia, Spain. As part of the event, IComunales presented the results from the Landex and Landmark projects carried out in 2025, funded by the International Land Coalition (ILC) throughout 2025.

During 2025, the IComunales team drove a community-led push to monitor land governance in Spain. They interviewed over 189 individuals who shared real-world experiences across four key sectors: forestry, extensive livestock farming, irrigation, and fishing/shellfish gathering. Analyses wove in a gender lens and positioned youth as vital drivers of the generational handover.

This groundwork fuelled the Landex shadow report, which champions communal systems as a cornerstone of Spain's socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental heritage linking these systems directly to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Landmark effort gathered and processed maps covering over 30% of communal territories in Spain.

At the event, participants defined the following next steps:

• Translate report insights into practical tools that communities can use to defend their land rights.
• Rally community voices for targeted political lobbying and institutional reforms.
• Launch public awareness via campaigns, workshops, and media to highlight communal systems' national importance.
• Secure ongoing ILC-style funding to scale mapping and monitoring nationwide.

These findings reinforce the need for policies valuing pastoral communities in variable environments and promoting coherent investments in pastoral ecosystems in the ques for greater community-led sustainability in Spain.