Land consolidation is a highly effective land management instrument that allows for the improvement of the structure of agricultural holdings and farms in a country, which increases their economic and social efficiency and brings benefits both to right holders as well as to society in general. Since land consolidation gives mobility to land ownership and other land rights, it may also facilitate the allocation of new areas with specific purposes other than agriculture, such as for public infrastructure or nature protection and restoration. Land consolidation instruments necessitate a thoroughly elaborated legal regulation that is integrated into the national legal framework. This legal guide provides detailed guidance on legislative issues regarding land consolidation in ways that align with Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security and international human rights law. It focuses on land consolidation in rural areas and is based on regional good land consolidation legislative practices in Europe, primarily on analysis of the regulatory practices in Denmark, Finland, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Serbia, Spain (Galicia) and Turkey. It also uses land consolidation regulatory practices in other European countries as a source of information. This legal guide is published in collaboration with the FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia.

Land consolidation can be an effective instrument to improve and reform land tenure structure in support of integrated rural development by addressing problems of land fragmentation. This guide has been prepared to support land administrators in land agencies responsible for the technical design and implementation of land consolidation pilot projects in transition countries. Issues considered include: advice on starting a land consolidation pilot project; why land consolidation should be considered within agricultural and rural development policies and programmes; key elements of land consolidation and how it can be introduced in different situations; and rules needed to govern responsibilities and procedures during the pilot project.