# Some key principles and first steps **Key principles to consider for local authorities** Before you start**, establish your ways of working**: * Allow adequate time for bringing all the relevant parts of the local authority together - be willing to be a champion * Be willing to share power: with the local community, other local landowners, farmers, civil society organisations * If you can advocate for money to support this process, then do - the more flexibility and resource you have, the easier this will be As you begin, **streamline objectives:** * Observe and gather information from a variety of sources - try to find shared goals and areas of consensus in the diagnosis of needs and priorities * Define objectives that are easy to explain - a clear and consistent message will facilitate your work in the long term Over time**, cultivate resilience:** * Give yourself time and the right to experiment - trials and errors are numerous in tackling land issues * Work with conviction and strong political will: it is best to anticipate difficulties and opposition and plan ahead how you will respond to these ### **Some low-barrier entry actions**
Put land on the agenda (of your internal meetings, of exchanges with constituents, of the next discussion with other local authorities…)
Make a quick research about organisations that work on land in your country/region, contact them to know if they have tools to support local authorities.
Support collectives and organisations working on land, even if only by providing them a municipal room to meet or by putting them in touch with relevant actors.
If you have relevant data on the land or agricultural market, or knowledge of a land opportunity, share it (with potential new farmers).
Seize opportunities! E.g. if a farmer is nearing retirement connect them with a candidate successor; if a lease is ending on a public farm try to encourage a sustainable project with the new lease; if a cheap or strategic plot is up for sale, acquire it or tell an ethical land trust or new farmer about it.
### **Some first steps to achieve specific goals** 1 - I am Maria, a staff member in an inter-municipal structure. I want our next land local zoning plan to better safeguard agricultural land. 2 - I am Paul, a council member in a small town. I want to use the 4 hectare plot of municipal land to produce vegetables for the local school. 3 - I am Joanna, a recently elected mayor in a rural village. I want to facilitate access to pasture lands held in common by residents to new entrants. ![Regulator character](https://3134868106-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2Fu7BfbdUPQRQnaeyaIU5f%2Fuploads%2FdRJCOTauwrJzI87jmlOg%2Fpersonnage_regulator.png?alt=media\&token=70abf3f0-653e-452d-8dc3-f7024d1a4aa8)**Maria’s first steps could be…** a- learn about who takes part in the zoning negotiations and their interests b- think about who in the local authority needs to be involved in these discussions. Paul’s most important role could be as a internal broker between all of the different interests within the local authority c- gather prior information on local land (existing studies on the local agriculture, existing objectives regarding curtailing land loss or tackling climate change) d- gather priori information on legal possibilities to protect land through zoning, and examples of towns who have done it
![Owner character](https://3134868106-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2Fu7BfbdUPQRQnaeyaIU5f%2Fuploads%2FiWx0u46bfbJxmEPr8Wzi%2Fpersonnage_owner.png?alt=media\&token=6af7af92-e7ec-4c61-b01a-6a553ee215f2)**Paul’s first steps could be…** a- evaluate whether the municipal land is fit for vegetable growing (type of soil and fertility, existence of infrastructure like greenhouses/irrigation/storage buildings) b- evaluate the costs, infrastructure and practices needed to enable the school canteen to start preparing meals from scratch using fresh vegetables c- reach out to community and civic society organisations who may be interested in managing the land or being involved with growing d- reach out to local farmers and skilled growers for advice on business models
![Facilitator character](https://3134868106-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2Fu7BfbdUPQRQnaeyaIU5f%2Fuploads%2FmTd4MbDOivUsPwxMiCMi%2Fpersonnage_facilitator.png?alt=media\&token=43a6812c-6ad6-4529-b6e5-8752ad85d49f)**Joanna’s first steps could be…** a- survey the farmers on their current use of the lands held in common b- make data publicly accessible on common land available c- engage the local administration - specifically the local council - to establish specific local measures which support new entrants, the safeguarding of common land and animal husbandry as agricultural activity of the community d- mediate the relationship between new entrants and the local community who are the stewards of the commons