Since the rights held (or not held) over lands, waters, and resources are critical to understanding the underlying context of a place, it is important to undertake an exercise to better understand the tenure form of a resource, the suite of actors with a right or stake in a resource, the type of recognition they hold, and potentially overlapping rights or claims. This template can be used during situation analysis to document this information by consulting local, regional, and national policy instruments, the department of natural resources (or similar government institutions), and the community or its representative institution. This exercise should be followed by “Tool 3: Tenure Security Assessment” to determine security of the rights, and which activities might be appropriate to address sources of insecurity.
Tenure security is a complex topic with multiple intersecting and influencing considerations. In “Tool 2: Tenure Rightsholder and Stakeholder Mapping,” we determined the tenure form of a resource, the suite of actors with a right or stake in a resource, the type of recognition they hold, and potentially overlapping rights or claims. Using this information, we now identify potential sources of tenure insecurity faced by Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and what actions conservation organizations might take in partnership with Indigenous Peoples and local communities to support strengthened tenure security. This information should be discussed with the community, or its representative institutions, during situation analysis using key informant interviews and focus group discussions.
*Please note, a full risk assessment is necessary to understand the potential unintended consequences (e.g., increased conflict or retaliation) of mitigating actions, since rights can be contentious. Ultimately, the appropriateness (and likelihood for success or failure) of any strategy to strengthen tenure security will depend on the context, source and drivers of insecurity, and enabling conditions
