NETWORK & MEMBERS

Network & Members > Contact Us

Land Rights in Bangladesh: Advocacy by Leading Organizations

Land rights in Bangladesh remain a deeply rooted issue tied to poverty, social inequality, and justice. Across the country, several grassroots organizations are working tirelessly to promote fair land distribution, defend the rights of indigenous peoples, and ensure access to land for the rural poor. This article highlights six members organizations advancing the land rights movement in Bangladesh.

Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD)

 

The Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD) was established in January 1991 as an independent, rights-based national policy advocacy and networking organization. It emerged from the NGO Coordination Council for Land Reform Program (NCCLRP), initially formed in 1987 by NGOs like Oxfam GB, Nijera Kori, BRAC, and others.

ALRD plays a vital role in shaping national policy discussions on land rights in Bangladesh, focusing especially on marginalized rural communities. ALRD’s mission focuses on promoting land rights and agrarian reform, especially through supporting the government’s khas land distribution program. It mobilizes grassroots communities, civil society, and NGOs to assert rights over land and natural resources for the landless poor and indigenous peoples.

Interventions

• Land Governance
• Customary land tenure
• Land Climate Change and Environment
• Land and Family Firming
• Char and Khas Land
• Forest Land
• Land and SDGs
• Land and Gender
• Minority Land Rights
• Urban Land tenure
• Land and Investment
• Water Right
• LandMatrix/Transparent accessible Land Information

Executive Director (ED)

Mr. Shamsul Huda

Association for Realization of Basic Needs (ARBAN)

 

ARBAN, founded in 1984, focuses on the fundamental rights and basic needs of people living in chronic poverty. It believes that all development initiatives—whether by the government, NGOs, or international bodies—must center around eradicating famine, malnutrition, disease, and exploitation.

ARBAN works with vulnerable communities to ensure that policies and programs are grounded in human dignity and social equity.

Chief Executive

Muhammed Kamal Uddin

Interventions

• Building alternative people’s organizations and community leadership.
• Mobilizing savings and extension of credit for employment and income generating EIG activities.
• Non-formal education and training for human resource development.
• Primary health care, water, sanitation, hygiene, ecology, and environmental promotion.
• Preservation, Promotion, and protection of human rights.
• Disaster preparedness and management.

Badabon

 

Founded in 2016 in southern Bangladesh, Badabon Sangho is a women-led organization advocating for women’s land rights and environmental justice. Its formation was rooted in community resistance to development projects like the Rampal Thermal Power Plant, which displaced many. Badabon Sangho’s feminist approach highlights the gendered aspect of land rights in Bangladesh, especially among Dalit and fisherwomen communities.

Badabon’s members include Dalit women, fisherfolk, widows, migrants, and other marginalized groups. The organization uses a feminist approach to challenge land-based violence and ecological destruction.

Interventions

• Women Group & Feminist Leadership Development
• Land, Agriculture and Water-bodies Rights
• Indigenous & Dalit Women’s Rights
• Women Migrant Workers’ Rights
• Women’s Action for Climate Justice
• Combat Violence against women/girls

Executive Director

Lipi Rahman

Kapaeeng Founfation

 

Derived from the Khumi word meaning “Rights,” the Kapaeeng Foundation was established in 2004 to defend the human rights of indigenous peoples in Bangladesh. The foundation is registered under the Societies Registration Act and serves as a powerful voice for ethnic minorities and indigenous rights.

It monitors human rights violations and facilitates access to justice for indigenous communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and beyond. Indigenous struggles for land rights in Bangladesh have been central to Kapaeeng Foundation’s mission since its founding.

Executive Director

Pallab Chakma

Interventions

• Capacity Building
• Human Rights
• Legal Aid and Support
• Lobby, Campaign and Advocacy
• Fact-Finding and Media Advocacy
• Liaison and Networking
• Research and Publication
• Documentation and Information Sharing

Nagorik Uddyog

Founded in 1995, Nagorik Uddyog strengthens democratic participation and local governance in Bangladesh. The organization promotes access to justice, people’s rights, and community-led development.

Notably, it works to democratize the Shalish system, ensuring that rural women—often left voiceless—gain access to fair dispute resolution.

Interventions

• Human rights education, community mediation and legal aid support;
• Women’s empowerment through building women’s leadership capacity;
• Strengthening local governance;
• Rights of Dalits, socially excluded and ethnic minorities;
• Child Rights;
• Labor Rights;
• Access to information by using right to information act;
• Human rights and civic awareness for youth;
• Community theater and folk cultural activities for promoting legal and human rights awareness;
• National and international advocacy, networking and campaigning to promote human rights;
• Disaster response, environment & climate change;
• Research and Publications.

Chief Executive

Zakir Hossain

Community Development Association (CDA)

 

Established in 1986 in northwestern Bangladesh, the Community Development Association (CDA) aims to build an equitable agrarian society. CDA fights landlordism, inequality, and fundamentalism by advocating for people-centered, rights-based development.

Its transformation from a charity-based initiative to a human rights-focused organization reflects its commitment to social justice, empowerment, and the redistribution of land and natural resources.

Executive Director

Shah I Mubin Jinnah

Interventions

• Empowering Communities through Secure Land Rights
• Social Inclusion and Human Rights
• Advocacy and Policy Influence
• Environmental Sustainability and Climate Resilience
• Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment
• Economic Empowerment and Livelihoods
• Health and Nutrition
• Education and skilled Development
• Technology, Innovation and Research