These Principles were officially launched on 12 November during the Inaugural Land Policy Conference in Africa in Addis Ababa. They aim to facilitate national land policy development and implementation process and to improve the governance of large-scale land based investments. They are articulated as fundamental principles based on human rights of communities, responsible governance of land, social acceptance by affected communities, gender equality and women’s access to land ownership, cost-benefits study and mutual accountability. They are also aligned to national strategies for sustainable agriculture. The challenge is their adoption and operationalization by AU member States. But Joan Kagwanja, Chief of the Land Policy Initiative, believes that African countries are ready to take the challenge. ‘We have already launched a series of training to build capacity of leaders, parliamentarians, jurists and other practitioners specializing in land issues. We hope that within the next three years at least, we will be able to stop land grabs. And that over the next decade, land management will have seen much needed improvement.’