Supporting liveable climate sensitive cities through integrated urban land management
Renée Chartres, our Senior Land and Legal Specialist, shares her thoughts on urban land management and its many linkages with climate and other critical socio-political issues.
The MRLG Project Hosts the 4th Mekong Regional Land Forum, celebrating 11 years of the Project
In September 2025, the 4th Mekong Regional Land Forum brought together more than 450 participants in person and online to reflect on the future of land governance in the Mekong region.
Piloting Resilience: Insights from the VARS Project in Vanuatu’s Urban Recovery
On 17th December 2024 around midday, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck just 30 km away from Vanuatu’s capital city of Port Vila. No stranger to disasters, the nation has weathered three major cyclones in 2023 alone. But recovery from this impact has felt a little different. 14 people tragically lost their lives, and an estimated […]
Land is the Link: Climate, Gender, Sustainable Change and the Future of Development
The world of land tenure and administration is also constantly evolving, influenced by political change, climate disruption, and technological evolution. Global official development assistance (ODA) fell in 2024 for the first time in five years, dropping by 7.1% as donor countries shifted their priorities inward and scaled back commitments. Although some countries – like Korea, […]
Building Resilience in Vanuatu: An Interview with Nik Regenvanu on Affordable Housing and Land Development Post-Disaster
In this interview, Nik Regenvanu, LEI’s Team Leader of the Vanuatu Affordable and Resilient Settlements (VARS) project, shares insights into his work addressing housing and land tenure challenges in Port Vila. With a background in banking, finance, and governance across the Pacific, Nik discusses the progress of the VARS project, its role in tackling affordable housing and secure land tenure, and the impact of the December 2024 earthquake on the region. He highlights the importance of collaborative efforts between the government, private sector, and communities in creating sustainable and resilient settlements for the future. Nik also discusses the critical role of financial institutions in facilitating affordable housing development, the need for long-term resilience planning, and his vision for Vanuatu’s urban growth beyond the immediate recovery efforts. The VARS project, supported by the World Bank and Vanuatu’s government, is seen as a potential model for similar initiatives across the Pacific, contributing to the region’s long-term stability and development.
Social Integrity in Forest Carbon Investments: What Is It, and Why Do We Need It? Written by Naomi Basik Treanor
Finance for nature-based solutions is on the upswing. The voluntary carbon market (VCM) and carbon investments have seen remarkable growth, particularly for projects that incentivize protection of forests and other landscapes in carbon-rich regions such as the Mekong, and is projected to mobilize up to US$5 billion annually in the next decade. Yet, like any […]
LEI are attending the World Bank’s Annual Land Conference, 13-17 May 2024
In just a few days the World Bank’s newly relaunched Annual Land Conference will commence in Washington DC! The 2024 Conference, which has the theme Securing Land Tenure and Access for Climate Action, aims to highlight effective strategies for securing land tenure and access in support of climate change mitigation and adaption. LEI’s team of […]
Our Land Thoughts – The ‘DOS’ and ‘DON’TS’ of the land acquisition processes: navigating a just path to sustainable investments
To explore deeper the challenges of land acquisition and extract good practices, LEI’s Senior Land and Law specialist, Renée Chartres, reached out to Racheal Kisiangani, a land acquisition practitioner, to share her years of experience working for private sector utility and infrastructure companies across seven sub-Saharan countries.
The Case for Including Women’s Tenure Security and Access to Land in DFAT’s New International Gender Equality Strategy
LEI has long recognised that progress on gender equality is intimately linked to women’s access and ownership of land. There can be no gender equality if women cannot access shelter and land on an equal footing to men. Further, the evidence is overwhelming that addressing the rights of women to land supports other key development […]
Project Update – Spatial decision-making to underpin energy transformation in Bangladesh
LEI staff, together with partners UNSW and ENRAC, recently presented to the Bangladesh State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources the work conducted under the World Bank project, Systematic Identification and Access to Land for Renewable Energy in Bangladesh.
