Commonwealth Living Lands Charter: A Commonwealth Call to Action on Living Lands (CALL)
The Charter
We, the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth,
1. Acknowledge that land, including its waterbodies, is both a source and sink of greenhouse gases and supports billions of people for their food, livelihoods, and wellbeing. The Earthโs climate is changing at an alarming rate and the associated impacts and risks are being felt increasingly across a range of terrestrial ecosystems, which are essential for nature and people;
2. Note that these impacts threaten global efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda), climate goals including the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Paris Agreement, and the Convention on Biological Diversity. For many vulnerable Commonwealth member countries, especially developing countries, the least developed countries and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), these impacts hinder and threaten their economic and social development;
3. Acknowledge that unsustainable land use, combined with increasing climate extremes,
have a direct impact on the destruction and degradation of soils, forests and biodiversity
in many countries, and pose a high risk of land-related natural disasters, and extreme
depletion and contamination of groundwater sources, which affect the health of millions
of people, (particularly the most vulnerable groups including youth and women),
including increases in environmentally induced migration.1
4. Recognise that the sustainable use of land resources and biodiversity including
agricultural cropland, livestock, wild species, soil and water, forests, and wetlands,
contribute significantly to the sustenance and socio-cultural values of local peoples,
including Indigenous peoples and their traditional knowledge, in line with the UN
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP). Land resources are a major
source of livelihoods, jobs and subsistence to the people of the Commonwealth;
5. Reaffirming our commitment to the Paris Agreement goal, grounded in science, of
holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius
above pre-industrial levels and resolve to pursue efforts to limit the temperature
increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, recognising that this would
significantly reduce the risks and impacts2 of climate change and increase the ability to
adapt;
6. Undertake to support progress toward an ambitious post-2020 global biodiversity
framework on area-based conservation measures and restoring degraded terrestrial
coastal and natural ecosystems.
Commonwealth Commitment to Safeguard Global Land Resources
We, the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth,
7. Note, with concern, the alarming decline in the health and productivity of our land
resources, with more than a third of land having been degraded in the last two decades;
8. Recognise the leading role that Commonwealth member countries are taking to meet
adaptation and mitigation actions; and recognise the necessary involvement of a wide
range of stakeholders, including local actors, Indigenous peoples, youth, women,
business leaders, regional partners, and other civil society stakeholders;
9. Recall the Memorandum of Understanding between the Commonwealth Secretariat and
the United Nations serving as a wider platform for the secretariats to work together on
pressing global issues including, sustainable development, inclusive growth, and
environmental and climate action for member countries within the UN Rio Conventions;
10. Recognise that most, if not all, member countries have been challenged with meeting
their respective commitments and obligations. The developing countries, least developed
countries and SIDS face particular challenges due to their unique vulnerabilities and
capacity constraints.
Commonwealth Call for Coordinated Action on Land
We, the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth,
11. Affirm our strong resolve to build natural resilience by halting and reversing biodiversity
loss, while ensuring the sustainable use of the components of biological diversity,
reversing land degradation and enhancing land-based climate change adaptation and
mitigation efforts;
12. Recognise the need to strengthen synergies and enhance coordinated implementation,
at the national, regional and global level at the necessary speed and scale, of relevant
actions under the three Rio Conventions โ (i) the Convention on Biological Diversity
(UNCBD), (ii) the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and (iii)
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC);
13. Note that the Commonwealth Secretariat aims to support member countries to: (a)
synergise the implementation of commitments agreed to under the three Rio Conventions
and (b) take multi-level adaptation and mitigation actions, including Nature-based
Solutions and ecosystem-based approaches, that ensure benefits around combating
climate-induced land degradation, climate change, desertification and halting and
reversing biodiversity loss;
14. Recognise that 47 of the 54 Commonwealth countries have coastlines, and 45% of the
member countries are large ocean states, thereby requiring an inclusive approach to
sustainable land management in coastal zones by working in tandem with the principles
of the Blue Charter,3 and recognising the intermediate area where ecosystems interact
between land and marine environments;4
15. Recognise the role of the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub (CCFAH) in
providing technical support and helping member countries, giving priority to developing
countries, least developed countries, and SIDS, to access finance and to facilitate the
implementation of this Charter, through embedding advisers in member countries to work
collaboratively with regional partners, development organisations and international
finance institutions;
16. Note the demand for a just transition which calls for substantially increasing investments
tied to the global low emission and climate resilience shift and the support required for
developing countries, least developed countries and SIDS, with reference to the COP26
Glasgow Climate Pact;5
17. Welcome the contribution of Commonwealth Accredited Organisations, including the
Commonwealth Forestry Association, the Commonwealth Foundation, the Association of
Commonwealth Universities, and other initiatives, such as the Queenโs Commonwealth
Canopy to support the implementation of the Charter through advocacy and research;
18. In the face of the rapidly changing climate and to forge new pathways towards the
achievement of a climate resilient, nature positive and land degradation-neutral world,
we, the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth, recognise the need to build
natural resilience by boosting biodiversity conservation, while ensuring the sustainable
use of the components of biological diversity, reducing land degradation, and enhancing
land-based climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts.
Cooperation and Knowledge Sharing
19. Underlining the pressing need to implement international and regional commitments at
national and subnational levels, we, the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth:
20. Recognise that the vulnerabilities of our ecosystems to land degradation, biodiversity
loss and climate change are closely interrelated and need to be considered collectively;
21. Recognise that sustainable land use depends on good land governance and secure tenure
rights; acknowledge the critical guardianship provided by Indigenous peoples and local
communities in protecting land and vital ecosystem services, and recognise the land and
resource rights of these communities, in accordance with relevant national legislation,
the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and other international
instruments;
22. Note that our land resources are often transboundary in nature and support ongoing
regional and sub-regional efforts to promote transboundary management of land for
collective benefits across communities, landscapes and boundaries;
23. Emphasise the importance of technology and innovation toward achieving the goals of
the Rio Conventions;
24. Recognise the need to cooperate at regional, national and subnational levels to meet
the Rio Convention commitments, including with the non-state sector and the private
sector through sharing of knowledge, expertise, success stories, and good practices in
sustainable land management, and incentivising investment flows and technological
innovation;
A Principled Approach
25. Recognising the need to promote sustainable and equitable outcomes across the
Commonwealth, we, the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth:
26. Reaffirm the continuing relevance of the Charter of the Commonwealth, our shared
interests, and the rule of law;
27. Underscore that the 16 Principles contained within the Commonwealth Charter6 and the
17 SDGs7 are relevant to meeting land-related commitments;
28. Underscore the commitments Commonwealth member countries have made in the
context of the Rio Conventions on consensus and common action, and the agreed
principles of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in
the light of different national circumstances taking into account mutual respect,
inclusiveness, transparency, accountability, legitimacy, and gender responsiveness;
29. Recognise the need to take an approach consistent with the Principles of the
Commonwealth Charter as well as evidenced-based science and knowledge to meeting our
climate resilient development of land and its resources;
30. Will voluntarily dedicate a โLiving Landโ to the future generations of every
Commonwealth country with assured prosperity, sustenance and security, in line with the
Strategy set for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
Implementation
We, the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth:
31. Endeavour to work towards climate resilient and sustainable land management in
member countries by integrating the goals of the three Rio Conventions towards
catalysing progress in achieving the SDGs, including SDG 15 (Life on Land), as well as
ambitious climate action, including implementation of Nationally Determined
Contributions under the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement, Land Degradation Neutrality
targets, and the post-2020 global biodiversity framework when it has been adopted;
32. Mandate the development of an Implementation Plan for CALL for consideration of
Commonwealth members.
Republic of Rwanda
25 June 202
1 IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land, Summary for Policymakers SPM_Updated–Jan20.pdf (ipcc.ch).
2 United Nations Paris Agreement (2015), https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/english_paris_agreement.pdf
3 ,https://bluecharter.thecommonwealth.org/
4 45% large oceans states refers to 25 Commonwealth States.
5 Statement is line with Glasgow Climate Pact paras 32 and 49.: Decision 1/CMA.3 (unfccc.int
6 Commonwealth Charter | Commonwealth (thecommonwealth.org)
7 THE 17 GOALS | Sustainable Development (un.org)
