{"id":2286,"date":"2026-02-28T12:56:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T12:56:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fjnetwork.org\/index\/?p=2286"},"modified":"2026-05-02T13:01:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T13:01:53","slug":"faith-justice-network-fjn-representation-at-international-conference-in-colombia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fjnetwork.org\/index\/faith-justice-network-fjn-representation-at-international-conference-in-colombia\/","title":{"rendered":"Faith &amp; Justice Network (FJN) Representation at International Conference in Colombia"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Views: 6<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Faith &amp; Justice Network (FJN) Representation at International Conference in Colombia<br>Dr. Tolbert Thomas Jallah Jr., Executive Director of the Faith &amp; Justice Network (FJN), is attending the Second International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development+20 (ICARRD+20) in Colombia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">The global conference brings together governments, rural organizations, civil society groups, and other key stakeholders to deliberate on: <em>Equity in land access, Rural justice, Agrarian reform<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Sustainable rural development Dr. Jallah\u2019s participation reflects FJN\u2019s commitment to advancing land equity, social justice, and sustainable development both locally and globally. On February 27, 2026, at the sidelines of the International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ICARRD+20) in Cartagena, Colombia, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) delivered a compelling call to re-center global land governance around collective tenure systems and agroecology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking during the gathering, AFSA emphasized that collective land tenure systems\u2014where land is owned, managed, or governed by communities rather than individuals\u2014are essential for protecting biodiversity, strengthening climate resilience, and safeguarding cultural heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Collective Tenure: A Stewardship Ethic Rooted in Faith and Culture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">AFSA underscored that for many African faith and Indigenous communities, land is not a commodity to be traded, but an ancestral heritage held in trust for future generations. This stewardship ethic encourages:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Sustainable harvesting<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Forest conservation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Soil protection<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">By contrast, privatized land regimes often incentivize short-term profit maximization through logging, monocropping, and land speculation\u2014practices that accelerate biodiversity loss and ecological degradation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Customary Governance as Conservation Framework<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">AFSA highlighted that collective systems frequently operate under customary laws that function as effective conservation mechanisms, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Rotational farming<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Protection of sacred forests<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Seasonal restrictions on hunting and fishing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Such traditional governance systems allow communities to manage forests, wetlands, and grazing lands holistically. Rather than fragmenting landscapes into fenced parcels, collective tenure maintains ecological connectivity across territories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Evidence from multiple African contexts shows that Indigenous and community-managed lands often experience lower deforestation rates than even state-protected areas\u2014demonstrating that conservation is strongest where communities have secure rights and cultural ties to their land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Bridging Food Sovereignty and Biodiversity Through Agroecology<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">AFSA stressed that agroecology must be central\u2014not peripheral\u2014to future land governance frameworks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Agroecology integrates crops, trees, livestock, and local knowledge into diversified food systems. This approach:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Reduces reliance on chemical inputs<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Protects soil organisms<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Safeguards water systems<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Enhances nutritional diversity<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">By aligning food production with ecological processes, agroecology becomes the operational arm of biodiversity protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Climate Resilience in an Era of Uncertainty<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">In the face of intensifying droughts and floods due to climate change, agroecological systems provide resilience through:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Crop diversity<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Agroforestry<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Soil regeneration<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">These practices strengthen carbon sequestration while restoring degraded landscapes, ensuring both environmental sustainability and food security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A New Vision for Land Governance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">AFSA\u2019s advocacy campaign calls for transformative policy shifts that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Legally recognize customary land rights<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Provide incentives for regenerative agricultural practices<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Redirect subsidies away from industrial monocultures<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Integrate agroecology into national agricultural policies<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">The organization urged policymakers to move beyond narrow yield-per-hectare metrics and instead prioritize:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Ecosystem health<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Nutritional diversity<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Social equity<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Carbon sequestration<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">A Governance Philosophy for the Future<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">In closing, AFSA affirmed that agroecology is not merely a farming technique\u2014it is a governance philosophy. It redefines land as a living system rather than a production unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">If collective tenure protects biodiversity structurally, agroecology operationalizes that protection in practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">The message from Cartagena was clear: Protect our Land. Restore our Soil.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Views: 6 Faith &amp; Justice Network (FJN) Representation at International Conference in ColombiaDr. Tolbert Thomas Jallah Jr., Executive Director of the Faith &amp; Justice Network (FJN), is attending the Second International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development+20 (ICARRD+20) in Colombia. The global conference brings together governments, rural organizations, civil society groups, and other key [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2248,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fjnetwork.org\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fjnetwork.org\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fjnetwork.org\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fjnetwork.org\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fjnetwork.org\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2286"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fjnetwork.org\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2287,"href":"https:\/\/fjnetwork.org\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2286\/revisions\/2287"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fjnetwork.org\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fjnetwork.org\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fjnetwork.org\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fjnetwork.org\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}