Takeaways on Youth, Nature, and Land Corruption: Tools, Inclusion, and Innovation

Speakers: Romy Sato, Research & Knowledge Manager at the Land Portal Foundation, Marcel Loyd Minka, Team Leader for Youth Empowerment & Capacity Building at the Youth Initiative for Land in Africa (YILAA), Shambhavi Poudel, Senior Officer, Conservation Education at WWF Nepal

Our latest session brought together youth leaders, land specialists, and anti-corruption practitioners to explore one central question: how can young people shape a future where land, nature, and environmental resources are governed with integrity? Across all contributions, one theme stood out: youth are not passive observers but active watchdogs, innovators, and defenders at the frontlines of environmental corruption.

Why youth matter in tackling land & environmental corruption

Speakers highlighted that corruption in land and environmental sectors continues to thrive through weak enforcement, opaque land documentation and licensing systems, politicized institutions, and deeply rooted gender and generational inequalities. At the same time, young people experience these failures directly, often navigating insecure land rights, limited influence in decision-making, and severe exposure to environmental degradation. Romy emphasized how these structural gaps keep youth excluded even as they shoulder the long-term consequences of today’s land-use decisions.

What youth are saying: everyday realities

Insights shared through the Land & Youth Digital Conference, highlighted by Romy, showed that many young people feel marginalized in land governance, constrained by cultural norms that expect them to “wait their turn,” and disproportionately affected by intersectional barriers tied to gender, age, and class. Poor access to land information and manipulated documentation systems further deepen these inequalities, while unclear or insecure land tenure exposes youth to family disputes, elite capture, and vulnerability to illegal exploitation. Discussions also underscored how environmental harm, from illegal logging to land grabbing, is tightly connected to corrupt systems that place youth and their communities at risk.

Digital tools helping youth expose and prevent corruption

The session showcased a wide ecosystem of tools enabling young people to monitor, report, and investigate environmental abuses. Platforms like Global Forest Watch, citizen-science apps, remote-sensing technologies, drones, and environmental sensors equip youth with new ways to document illegal practices and gather evidence. Social media is many times used by youth to mobilize and amplify local struggles.

Marcel shared how YILAA (Youth Initiative for Land in Africa) strengthens these efforts through capacity-building programs on land governance, environmental corruption, and digital mapping, complementing initiatives from Transparency International, PILnet, UNITAR, WWF, I2LEC, and others. These training efforts equip young people not only to gather evidence but also to understand the governance structures behind it. For more information on YILAA’s capacity-building programs, please click here.

Inclusive platforms give youth a voice

Tools alone are not enough and, as Marcel mentioned, platforms that genuinely include youth in governance systems are essential. Networks such as Youth Climate Councils, Youth Initiative for Land in Africa, the Youth and Land Multi-stakeholder Platform in Africa, and the Global Youth Biodiversity Network give young people structured pathways to influence policy. Open contracting and transparency systems allow them to track public spending on natural resources and identify irregularities.

Drawing from Land Portal’s work, Romy emphasized the transformative role of open land data, accessible documentation, and transparent records as key conditions for reducing manipulation and strengthening good land governance.

Youth agency, justice, and safe participation

Drawing on her experience working with Nepal’s community forests, Shambhavi emphasized that meaningful youth engagement requires far more than digital tools. It relies on supportive institutions, good governance practices, and environments where young people can participate without fear.

Young people are often the first to spot environmental harms and governance gaps, yet their contributions are too often overlooked or discouraged. These barriers are even more pronounced for young women and Indigenous youth.

The core message was unmistakable: youth engagement is not symbolic. It is a driving force for accountability, integrity, and more equitable land and resource governance.

What works: solutions youth prioritize

The insights from the Land & Youth Digital Conference, combined with YILAA and WWF’s hands-on experience, converged on a set of practical solutions that strengthen integrity in land and environmental governance. While not always presented as “anti-corruption tools,” these approaches directly reinforce transparency and accountability:

• Meaningful inclusion of youth in land committees, local councils, and advisory processes.
• Open, digital, and transparent land information systems that reduce manipulation and improve public oversight.
• Stronger and more equitable land and tenure security, which reduces opportunities for elite capture.
• Gender-responsive approaches that amplify young women’s leadership.
• Robust legal and institutional protections for land and environmental defenders, supported by frameworks such as the Escazú Agreement.

Useful resources:

• Land Portal resources on Land & Youth here
• Land Portal resources on Land & Corruption here
• Courses on Land Governance and Land Mapping from the Youth Initiative for Land in Africa (YILAA) available here
• Transparency International report ‘This beautiful land: Corruption, discrimination and land rights in Sub-Saharan Africa’ (with a case study in Zimbabwe focused on youth) available here
• 5th CIGOFA, International Youth and Land Conference in Africa 23 - 24 May 2026 Cape Town (South Africa). Registrations available here
• Youth Initiative for Land in Africa (YILAA) resources on Land Governance, available here

The recording of the presentations from the December 3rd Land Corruption working group meeting is available here.