A Decade of Impact. A Future of Possibility.
From: Amy Coughenour Betancourt, President and CEO, Cadasta
As this year comes to a close, and as we mark Cadasta’s tenth anniversary, it’s impossible not to step back and reflect on the deeper meaning of what we’ve been building together. From the beginning, our mission has never been about technology or data for its own sake. It has always been about something profoundly human: the right to belong, to be recognized, and to shape one’s own future.
Throughout 2025, that truth came into sharper focus. In moments of both progress and uncertainty, we were reminded that secure land and resource rights are not merely a technical achievement but the cornerstone of human well-being. Families who once faced instability can now plan beyond the next season. Young people are leading mapping efforts in places where they will one day govern. Forests remain protected because the communities that steward them now have the authority to defend them.
This year also revealed something essential about the path ahead. Even amid global uncertainty—including shifting budgets and changing political priorities—the work at the community level did not slow. People continued to assert their rights, map their lands, and strengthen their governance systems. That persistence gives our mission its direction and purpose. It reminded us that our role is not just to deliver training and tools, but to help create conditions for communities to move forward on their own terms.
Across Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, communities used Cadasta’s tools to strengthen their claims, protect their forests, and guide their futures. We saw Indigenous leaders in Myanmar establish the Thawthi Taw-Oo Indigenous Park, protecting 1.4 million acres of forest and cultural heritage through Indigenous-led mapping and governance. In Rwanda, families gained clarity and reduced disputes over parcels central to their agricultural livelihoods. And across the Strengthening Land and Forest Rights Program, communities paired traditional knowledge with digital tools to document resources, resolve disputes, steward natural resources, and elevate women and youth as leaders.
As we look toward our next decade, our focus becomes even clearer. The world is entering a period where land rights are inseparable from climate action, cultural survival, economic resilience, and social justice. The future of our mission lies not in perfecting the mechanics of documenting rights, but in deepening what those rights enable: stability, security, and the ability for communities to shape their own futures.
Cadasta’s role is to provide the tools, data, and training that help partners translate documentation into long-term benefits for the people they serve. That is the work we are committed to deepening in the years ahead.
Our work will continue to evolve, but its core will not change. Secure land rights remain one of the most powerful levers communities have to protect what matters most. Cadasta’s role is to help ensure those rights are visible, respected, and actionable.
To our partners, donors, staff, and supporters: thank you for standing with us through a year of uncertainty and a decade of progress. Your support and belief in this mission enable Cadasta to continue delivering the tools, training, and technology that help communities protect their land, strengthen their futures, and carry forward the knowledge and stewardship the world urgently needs.
Here’s to ten years of meaningful impact, and to everything we will build together in the decade ahead.
P.S. Help us close out the year with your direct contribution to Cadasta’s transformational work. Every contribution makes a difference, no matter the size. Thank you for your support!