Navigating the Crossroads: Why LPN Global is Tracking the Convergence of Land, Climate, and Economic Agendas

Editorial — At the heart of LPN Global’s work lies a conviction: that secure housing, land, and property rights are not isolated development goals, but interconnected drivers of global resilience. Across the world, land is being redefined — not just as territory or a tradable asset, but as a fulcrum upon which climate adaptation, economic transformation, and human rights increasingly pivot.

Few places on earth demonstrate the convergence of the land, climate and economic agendas like Caribbean Small-Island Developing States (SIDS) such as the Commonwealth of Dominica in the Eastern Caribbean. (Photo: Nancy Pauwels)

As the international community prepares for a series of high-stakes summits and dialogues — from COP29 to the UN Ocean Conference to the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States — LPN Global’s Programme and Policy Pillar is working to illuminate the implications of this convergence for the world’s most vulnerable populations.

Three recent feature articles — “Blue Rights, Green Deals,” “Land Under Pressure,” and “The Price of Progress” — lay out the rationale for why these overlapping agendas must be examined through the lens of land governance. Together, they form a clarion call to donors, governments, and multilateral actors: we cannot afford to pursue siloed solutions in a world of compounding risks.

Blue Rights, Green Deals: When Land Meets Ocean Diplomacy

As the climate crisis reshapes coastlines, blue economy policies and climate finance packages are accelerating investment into coastal and marine spaces. But behind the promise of “green deals” lies a growing wave of contestation over property rights in coastal zones — often affecting Indigenous, artisanal fishing, and marginalised coastal communities.

In “Blue Rights, Green Deals,” LPN Global highlights how climate diplomacy is fast-tracking investments that carry real risks of displacement and tenure insecurity in vulnerable coastal areas. Whether it’s a new marine protected area, a carbon offset initiative, or ocean-based renewable infrastructure, the stakes are high: access to coastal land and livelihoods is increasingly being negotiated without the full participation of those most affected.

Monitoring these developments is critical to safeguarding blue rights — tenure security not only on land but along our shrinking coasts. LPN Global is tracking how new ocean-climate partnerships intersect with customary land and resource rights, and how governments can incorporate tenure safeguards in ocean governance frameworks.

Land Under Pressure: Environmental Policy and the Politics of Access

The second piece, “Land Under Pressure,” examines how environmental policymaking — especially tied to conservation, biodiversity, and carbon markets — is redefining access to land and resources in both rural and urban contexts.

From forest-rich regions in Africa and Latin America, to peri-urban zones across Southeast Asia, new environmental regulations are tightening control over land use. While these shifts are often framed as necessary for planetary sustainability, they can reinforce existing land inequalities if tenure systems are not formally recognised or if communities are excluded from decision-making processes.

For LPN Global, this is not just an environmental story — it’s a land governance emergency. The Programme and Policy Pillar is monitoring how climate commitments translate into land-related policies and tracking the implementation of safeguards for communities whose tenure is undocumented but legitimate.

We are particularly concerned about how Indigenous Peoples, pastoralists, and informal urban settlers are affected by large-scale conservation, reforestation, and climate finance initiatives. The goal is to ensure that land tenure reform is seen as a climate solution — not a casualty of it.

The Price of Progress: Land, Investment, and a Shifting Global Economy

“The Price of Progress” reflects on the new wave of global investment linked to infrastructure, energy, agribusiness, and digital connectivity — all areas where land remains the invisible currency. From Special Economic Zones to climate-smart agriculture corridors and clean energy projects, investment pipelines are surging. But the enabling frameworks that govern access to land remain fragile or outdated in many countries.

The result: land disputes, opaque compensation schemes, and growing tensions between governments, investors, and local communities.

LPN Global’s Programme and Policy Pillar views this dynamic as a critical flashpoint. In a shifting global economy, where competition for land is intensifying, safeguarding tenure security must be integral to sustainable investment. Through our platform, we are monitoring policy shifts in investment law, land acquisition frameworks, and private sector ESG commitments.

We are also engaging with multilateral actors and financial institutions to spotlight risk mitigation tools and promote models that centre community land rights as part of responsible investment practices.

Why This Matters Now

These three agendas — climate diplomacy, environmental governance, and global investment — are not just intersecting with land issues. They are redefining them. The Programme and Policy Pillar was created to monitor these intersections in real time, helping bridge the gap between local realities and global policies.

At LPN Global, we believe that securing tenure is not just about registration. It’s about inclusion in the decisions shaping our planet’s future.

As we head into a critical season for global policymaking, our message is clear: land governance is central to climate resilience, economic justice, and sustainable development. The world must act accordingly.