Land rights

The OECD Guidelines’human rights and environment provisions recommend important protections for people and communities whose land and tenure rights are affected by business activities. Companies should:

• Avoid causing or contributing to harm to land and tenure rights, and address and remedy such harms when they occur.
• Help prevent or mitigate harms to land and tenure rights that are directly linked to their operations, products or services through business relationships.
• Identify and address environmental impacts that may affect land, territories, forests and fisheries through risk-based due diligence.
• Meaningfully engage with affected communities and people with legitimate tenure rights throughout due diligence, including by removing barriers to participation.
• Avoid reprisals against people defending their lands, forests, fisheries and territories from harmful business activities.
• Ensure investments in land, forests and fisheries respect legitimate tenure rights and do not contribute to dispossession.

The Guidelines refer to the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests (VGGTs), which provide further guidance on respecting legitimate tenure rights.