WHO DESERVES THE NEXT ILC AWARD?
ILC members are doing amazing work and we want to celebrate their impact.
We launched a call for good practices in 2024, around four main themes: Global Challenges, National Land Coalitions, Gender Justice, and Land and Environmental Defenders.
After pouring through many strong submissions, four category winners have been selected and are now in the running for the fourth ILC Award. We invite you to vote on a single nominee for this grand prize.
Scroll down to learn more about our nominees, and when you're ready, vote!
Vote by March 7, 2025
Good luck to all of our nominees!
National Land Coalition COLOMBIA
Learn more about NLC Colombia here.
Gender Justice
In Colombia, rural women face systemic marginalisation, limited access to land and gender-based violence, which hinders their ability to participate fully in land governance.
Impact: non-violent masculinities
About the initiative
Who
The National Land Coalition (NLC) of Colombia is the ILC-sponsored multi-stakeholder platform operating in the country. It brings together six ILC members while also working with governmental bodies. It is led by Centro de Investigación y Educación Popular (People’s Research and Education Centre – CINEP), that works to promote an equitable and sustainable world, focusing its research on conflicts, human rights, public policy, social movements, poverty and development and more. Solidarity values, peace and inclusivity are seen as the basis of State-building processes.
Context
In Colombia, rural women face systemic marginalisation, limited access to land and gender-based violence, which hinders their ability to participate fully in land governance. The Coalition of Women of the Caribbean for Land and Territory -- supported by NLC Colombia -- along with allied organizations, launched an initiative to promote gender equity by engaging men in discussions about masculinity, land rights, and non-violence.
Key Actions and Impact
As part of the Stand for Her Land (S4HL) Colombia campaign, the Coalition developed the "Ajá y ¿por qué no?" strategy, a communication and community education initiative aimed at promoting non-violent masculinities. This initiative fosters dialogue among men—partners, fathers and community leaders—to challenge patriarchal norms and advocate for women's land rights. It consists of community dialogues, organisational conversations and visibility actions, supported by a five-episode radio series and a political-methodological handbook co-created with Coalition’s women.
The radio series addresses key topics such as caregiving, fatherhood, women’s land rights, water management and female participation in governance. By integrating these themes, the initiative challenges deep-rooted gender norms and highlights the structural inequalities that perpetuate violence against women.
Thus far, over 40 men across five communities in Montes de María, Canal del Dique and Córdoba have engaged in these dialogues. In parallel, the Coalition is facilitating further community discussions in key municipalities to deepen the impact of the initiative. The strategy also extends its influence at the national level, engaging officials from Colombia’s National Land Agency and local government units in discussions about non-violent masculinities and gender equity in land governance.
Challenges
One of the primary challenges was engaging men in the process without resistance or tokenistic participation. It was difficult to encourage meaningful discussions without the risk of reinforcing patriarchal attitudes. Additionally, facilitators faced opposition in some community dialogues, where traditional gender norms clashed with the initiative’s objectives. The production process itself became an educational journey, as securing male participants for the radio series required careful negotiation. The Coalition also had to ensure that these dialogues did not increase risks for women, given the existing threats they face in their territories.
Innovative Approaches
The initiative stands out for bridging gender justice with land rights activism through a multimedia approach, combining traditional radio storytelling with modern digital platforms like streaming services, websites and social media. It also fosters intergenerational collaboration, integrating the perspectives of older leaders with the fresh activism of younger generations. By engaging men as allies without confrontation, it ensures a sustainable community-driven approach to social change.
National Land Coalition Philippines
Learn more about NLC Philippines here.
Outsanding National Land Coalition
The Philippines remains one of the most dangerous for land and environmental defenders (LEDs), with ongoing land distribution struggles and environmental threats.
Impact: Quick Response Mechanism
About the initiative
Who
The National Land Coalition (NLC) of the Philippines is the ILC-sponsored multi-stakeholder platform operating in the country. It brings together nine ILC members in the country but it also works in partnership with other organisations and institutions, for example through CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women) related initiatives or by focusing on the agrarian reform.
Context
The NLC Philippines has been working since July 2021 to promote people-centred land governance in a challenging political and environmental context. The country remains one of the most dangerous for land and environmental defenders (LEDs), with ongoing land distribution struggles and environmental threats. Despite these challenges, NLC Philippines has played a crucial role in securing land rights, supporting agrarian reform, and influencing biodiversity policies.
Key Actions and Impact
The NLC Philippines implemented a Quick Response Mechanism (QRM) for LEDs, developing and activating guidelines to provide immediate support in land and resource conflicts. Between 2022 and 2024, the initiative supported 14 LED cases, assisting thousands of individuals, and later expanded to secure 10 sub-grants benefiting around 6,000 families, including Indigenous Peoples, smallholder farmers, and fisherfolk.
The coalition also worked on biodiversity conservation policies, contributing to the Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (PBSAP) and promoting the recognition of Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs). It developed an Indigenous Peoples’ Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (BSAP) and led consultation workshops highlighting the role of farmers in conservation.
Additionally, the NLC engaged in policy advocacy, raising concerns about the World Bank-financed SPLIT program which affects agrarian reform beneficiaries. Through national and local mobilisations, they helped secure land rights for many such beneficiaries, covering thousands of hectares of agricultural land.
Challenges
The main challenge faced by the NLC was the limitation and volatility of funding. Often, in policy and advocacy, sudden opportunities or threats arise – and funding must be flexible enough to respond to them effectively. This challenge was overcome by relying on the energy and expertise of the platform’s member organisations.
Innovative Approaches
The NLC Philippines stands out as one of two NLCs in Asia with a working Quick Response Mechanism. Their strategy blends mass mobilizations with formal dialogues, balancing grassroots advocacy with engagement in policy spaces. This dual approach has allowed them to achieve tangible policy outcomes while maintaining strong collaboration with government and development partners.
MEMBER: FES (INDIA)
Learn more about The Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), here.
Global Challenges: Inequality
In India, common lands such as forests, pastures and so-called "wastelands" provide essential resources like food, fodder and firewood, while also playing a critical role in biodiversity conservation and climate resilience. However, weak tenure rights, government policies favouring industrial use and the climate crisis threaten these vital resources
IMPACT: community land governance
About the initiative
Who
The Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) works towards the ecological restoration and conservation of land and water resources in the uplands and other eco-fragile, degraded and marginalised zones of the country. To this end, it also works to set in place the processes of coordinated human effort and governance.
As ecological security is the foundation of sustainable and equitable development, FES is committed to the strengthening, the reviving or restoration, where necessary, of the processes of ecological succession and conservation of land, forest and water resources in the country.
Context
In India, common lands such as forests, pastures and so-called "wastelands" sustain millions of rural poor, including women, landless workers and tribal communities. These lands provide essential resources like food, fodder and firewood, while also playing a critical role in biodiversity conservation and climate resilience. However, weak tenure rights, government policies favouring industrial use and the climate crisis threaten these vital resources. FES works on an initiative that aims to strengthen community governance over common lands through collaboration, policy advocacy and capacity building.
Key Actions and Impact
The initiative is structured around four key strategies:
- Catalysing Collaborations – Establishing multi-actor platforms to bring together government agencies, civil society and community institutions for joint decision-making and policy influence.
- Strengthening Local Leadership – Empowering communities, especially women and landless groups, with the skills and resources to reclaim leadership roles in land governance.
- Policy Advocacy & Public Support – Challenging misconceptions about commons governance through evidence-based advocacy, influencing land tenure policies and securing public investment.
- Accountability & Transparency – Creating state-level dashboards to track land tenure and real-time monitoring of land rights and restoration efforts.
Over the last few years, the initiative has led to many individuals securing tenure over commons, nearly half of whom are women. Thousands of women now hold leadership roles in local governance, and many more people have improved their incomes through sustainable resource management. Overall, large areas of land have been secured for community management, with around half actively governed through participatory models. These efforts have unlocked considerable public investments for commons-related programs, benefiting marginalised communities. Additionally, the Government of India’s Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan has accelerated land rights recognition for tribal and forest-dependent communities, directly influenced by the initiative’s advocacy.
Challenges
A key challenge faced by FES is the disconnect between national policies and state-level implementation. For example, while the Forest Rights Act aims to secure land tenure for tribal communities, its implementation is uneven. In collaboration with state governments like Odisha and Jharkhand, FES thus co-developed programmes to expedite the recognition of community forest rights, bridging gaps between policy and practice.
Another challenge is posed by political priorities that favour short-term individual gains over collective community benefit, for example favouring regularisation of encroachments. FES worked with local institutions to strengthen collective management practices and resist unsustainable land conversions.
Innovative Approaches
FES combines grassroots action with systemic change by integrating participatory mapping, community-driven governance models, and digital tools such as the India Observatory data platform. This approach ensures that local insights inform national policies, creating a scalable model for sustainable commons governance.
Member: PAKISAMA (Philippines)
Learn more about the National Fedearion of Peasant Organisation (PAKISAMA), here.
Frontline defenders
The PAKISAMA-led campaign on the islands of Bugsuk, Pandanan, and Marihangin in Palawan, Philippines, is a decades-long struggle against land grabbing. The conflict dates back to the times of the times of the 1970s regime, when Indigenous Peoples and local communities were forcibly evicted.
Impact: The Sambilog-Balik Bugsuk Movement
About the initiative
Who
PAKISAMA is a national peasant confederation and movement dedicated to the empowerment of the Filipino small farmers, fishers, rural women, youth and Indigenous Peoples leading in the advocacy and implementation of sustainable agrarian and aquatic reform and rural development. It also promotes the equality of men and women, and responds to the present and historical problem of poverty and injustice.
Context
The PAKISAMA-led campaign on the islands of Bugsuk, Pandanan, and Marihangin in Palawan, Philippines, is a decades-long struggle against land grabbing. The conflict dates back to the times of the times of the 1970s regime, when Indigenous Peoples and local communities were forcibly evicted. Today, a new wave of evictions is being attempted, including violently, fueled by corporate interests seeking to develop luxury tourism projects. The Sambilog-Balik Bugsuk Movement, with PAKISAMA’s leadership, has mobilised to resist these displacements through non-violent action and community organising, exposing the role of corporate and government collusion in the dispossession of local communities.
Key Actions and Impact
The campaign is anchored in two core strategies:
- Active Non-Violence – Inspired by Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and the Sumilao Farmers Campaign, PAKISAMA uses peaceful direct actions such as hunger strikes, fluvial parades, mass mobilizations, and legal challenges to reclaim the thousands hectares of contested land. Their resistance against armed security forces and corporate pressure has gained significant media traction, with a documentary on a national TV program garnering millions of views.
- Community Organising – The Sambilog-Balik Bugsuk Movement has trained new young and women leaders, ensuring that resistance remains community-driven. The campaign has engaged lawyers, civil society organisations and faith-based groups at local, national and international levels. Partnerships with Jesuit universities, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines and global land rights organisations have amplified their advocacy, leading to policy discussions at the provincial and national levels.
At the local level, the campaign has strengthened community self-organisation, resisting corporate encroachment and defending indigenous and fisherfolk land rights. Legal efforts are ongoing to reinstate agrarian reform coverage and cancel fraudulent land titles.
At the national level, their activism contributed to the passage of the 2021 Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Law and placed agrarian reform in the national spotlight through major protests and media engagement.
At the international level, the issue was raised at the World Food Security Conference, and PAKISAMA has partnered with global networks such as Land Rights Now!, IUCN and Fair Finance to push for wider visibility and pressure.
Challenges
The main challenges have been the lack of funds and human resources on the one hand, and the difficulty of mobilising network support at all levels against powerful adversaries on the other hand.
From the former, PAKISAMA learnt that the time, passion and competence of the team managing the campaign can make up for the difficulties – thus projects should invest heavily in recruiting and building capacities for the best campaign management team.
From the latter, PAKISAMA learnt that every land rights campaigner should also be a great networker in order to make their voice heard.
Innovative Approaches
PAKISAMA’s approach stands out for its highly structured non-violent resistance model, combining legal, grassroots and media strategies to mobilise national and international networks. Their ability to frame land struggles as a human rights issue has successfully pressured government agencies and corporate, while growing locally despite threats and repression.
