ILRG II Quarterly Report: Sept-Dec 2023

The purpose of ILRG II is to develop, implement, assess, and evaluate interventions that secure land tenure and resource rights and strengthen LRG systems. ILRG II aims to improve the LRG systems responsible for implementing land and resource governance rights, as well as strengthen the capacity of stakeholders to advocate for their own rights. The project seeks to achieve four objectives: strengthening enabling environments to promote inclusive legal and policy frameworks for land and resource governance, enhancing the capacity of key stakeholders and partners to implement inclusive land and resource governance laws and practices, building innovative partnerships with the private sector to promote responsible land-based investing, and supporting robust monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning activities to improve land and resource governance programming. As of December 2023, one ILRG activity is underway, related to an evaluation of the Indigenous Peoples Alliance for Rights and Development (IPARD) program. Additional efforts this quarter included initial scoping for several funding areas that will be developed into activities over the coming two quarters. These areas include Green Cities/Adaptation, Environmental Defenders, Women's empowerment and sustainable agroforestry in the cocoa sector, and Zambia Mission buy-in to deepen community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) activities. ILRG II's contracting office management moved to the Office of Acquisition and Assistance division that supports the Bureau for Resilience, Environment and Food Security, and a dedicated contracting officer has not yet been assigned to the contract. Despite this, ILRG II was able to initiate implementation of the IPARD evaluation and confirm two co-lead positions for the evaluation team. The ILRG II project is expected to have a significant impact on land and resource governance in USAID-presence countries. By securing land tenure and resource rights, the project aims to promote development of equitable and resilient societies where land and resource governance rights are respected and utilized to create broad-based growth for all.