The National Land Commission has entered into a partnership agreement with the Land Portal Foundation, a leading online destination for information, resources, innovations and networking on land issues.
The Memorandum of Understanding between the two institutions was affirmed on Wednesday evening during the exchange of the partnership documents held within the UN Complex in Gigiri, Nairobi on the sidelines of the 9th Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) Partners’ meeting.
The MoU will see NLC and the Land Portal Foundation partner in eight areas namely; review and update the research on the State of Land Information (SOLI) in Kenya, Implement the Open Up Guide (OUG) in Kenya to promote changes to data ecosystem thereby increasing the availability, use and uptake of land data, Data Sharing Ingestion through cooperation in sharing bibliographic data accruing to open standards, and reviewing the country profile by including core cadastral data for comparative land administration.
Other areas are geoportals, capacity building, advocacy and knowledge production.
In brief remarks presented on his behalf by Commissioner Reginald Okumu, NLC Chairperson Gershom Otachi hailed the partnership between the two institutions.
“Through such partnerships, we are able to implement various programmes that support land reform agenda in Kenya. The partnership with Land Portal Foundation, could not have come at a better time,” said Mr Otachi.
“I am therefore optimistic that with our new partnership, we shall be able to do much more to promote the land agenda, not only in Kenya but also internationally. We shall be able to profile the country as a champion for land agenda,” he added.
The Chairperson also undertook to see that the MoU is fully implemented.
In her remarks, NLC Commissioner Hon. Tiyah Galgalo, who also chairs the Communication Technology & Partnerships Committee of the Commission noted that the partnership with the Land Portal Foundation bears the key elements to any collaboration namely, common objectives and goals, shared risks and mutual benefits, contributions from both partners and shared authority, responsibility and accountability.
“I look forward towards actualising this engagement through implementation, monitoring and evaluation and taking cognisance of sustainability measures,” said Commissioner Tiyah.
NLC acting CEO Kabale Tache noted the similarities and commonalities on the strategic focus of the two institutions “ranging from improving documentation, mapping and monitoring of land governance issues through providing data, structured information, tools and services.”
“The National Land Commission is indeed privileged to partner with a recognized institution like the Land Portal Foundation… My office will ensure effective implementation and monitoring of this MoU,” she said.
NLC also extended an invitation to the Land Portal Foundation to attend and participate in the forthcoming Regional Research Conference from May 24 to 25, 2023, under the theme ‘Responding To Climate Change Through Land Governance In The Region’. The Commission is partnering with the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change & Forestry, the University of Nairobi and the National Research Fund (NRF).
In her remarks at the event, the Foundation’s managing director Laura Meggiolaro hailed the partnership, highlighting the fact that this was the first time they were formally engaging with a government.
The Land Portal aims to help data and information providers to create, curate and disseminate land governance data and information to become part of a more inclusive, friendly and accessible information landscape.
Its mission is to build an information ecosystem for land governance that enables and supports better informed decision and policy making at national and international levels.
The Foundation is a public benefit organization registered in the Netherlands established on September 8, 2014.
Earlier on Wednesday, staff of the NLC participated in the GLTN meeting under the theme ‘Securing Land Tenure for all in the rapidly changing world’.
GLTN is an alliance of international partners contributing to poverty alleviation through increased access to land and tenure security for all through developing, dissemination and implementing pro-poor, gender-responsive land tools that contribute to land reform, good land governance, inclusive land administration, sustainable land management, and functional land sector coordination