{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Indigenous and local communities regain millions of hectares of land via successful legal effort","description":"Nonette Royo is a lawyer from the Philippines and executive director of The Tenure Facility, a group of \u201cbarefoot lawyers\u201d working to secure land tenure for Indigenous, local and Afro-descendant communities across the world. To date, the organization has secured more than $150 million in funding and has made progress in securing land rights covering  34 million hectares (84 million acres) across 35 projects, an area larger than Greece. Royo joins Mongabay\u2019s podcast to discuss the organization\u2019s success, its recognition as a finalist for the 2025 Earthshot Prize, and why land rights are so crucial both for cultural survival and slowing the pace of global ecological degradation. \u201cThis work is really about land tenure, and about land and people. And it is very important because at this point in our world, where we are breaching planetary boundaries, we are still hesitating to invest in the people who protect our land, our forests and our diverse systems,\u201d she says. Take a minute to let us know what you think of our audio reporting, which you can do here. The Mongabay Newscast is available on major podcast platforms, including  Apple and Spotify. All previous episodes are accessible on the Mongabay website. Mike DiGirolamo is a host &amp;amp; associate producer for Mongabay based in Sydney. He co-hosts and edits the Mongabay Newscast. Find him on LinkedIn and Bluesky. Banner Image:&amp;nbsp;Women of Masaka embark on cassava cultivation. The plantation areas are located in the heart of the community of Mabaka in the Kwango region. Image by Ley Uwera. Courtesy of The Tenure Facility. ---------- Timecodes (00:00) The \u2018barefoot lawyers\u2019 helping secure land rights (06:28) How the legal system can protect nature and rights (10:29) Challenges and successes (15:36) Better mapping tech is helping (27:16) Goals and progress of the Tenure Facility ","author_name":"Mongabay Newscast","author_url":"https:\/\/www.mongabay.com\/podcast\/","html":"<iframe title=\"Libsyn Player\" style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/39162600\/height\/90\/theme\/custom\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/forward\/render-playlist\/no\/custom-color\/88AA3C\/\" height=\"90\" width=\"600\" scrolling=\"no\"  allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen><\/iframe>","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/assets.libsyn.com\/secure\/content\/195807270"}