Addis Ababa — The Land Policy Initiative (LPI) participates in the World Bank 2015 Annual Conference on Land and Poverty through organizing sessions and side events during the five-day event, held in Washington D.C., between 23 and 27 March 2015. The theme of this year's global event is "Linking land tenure and use for shared prosperity."

The Conference deliberates on the role of land tenure in the distribution of assets between men and women, generations, and social groups. It also focuses on the far-reaching implications that patterns of land use will have for welfare and other socio-economic outcomes at household, community, and landscape levels.

The Conference focuses on several thematic areas, such as: climate smart land use, impacts of large scale land-based investments, approaches to improving tenure security, harnessing the potential of open data for transparency, and innovations on improving access to justice.

The LPI organizes a session on the "Status of the implementation of the African Union Declaration on Land Issues and Challenges in Africa," and hosts a Development Partners Platform Meeting and several bilateral side meetings.

It is expected that the LPI exhibition booth, organized jointly with the African Development Bank (AfDB) and open throughout the Conference, support the dissemination of LPI research papers and other publications.

The LPI participation at the Conference supports the implementation of the AU Declaration on Land and the Nairobi Action Plan on Large Scale Land Based Investments. The Conference is also an opportunity for learning and knowledge sharing, and for enhancing partnerships in the field of land policy at national and international levels.

The Conference brings together researchers, representatives from governments, civil society, academia, the development partners, and the private sector.

The Land Policy Initiative is a joint programme of the tripartite consortium consisting of the African Union Commission (AUC), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). Its mandate is to facilitate the implementation of the AU Declaration on Land Issues and Challenges in Africa.