Katana VentraIP

Land trust

Land trusts are nonprofit organizations which own and manage land, and sometimes waters. There are three common types of land trust, distinguished from one another by the ways in which they are legally structured and by the purposes for which they are organized and operated:

For the UK charity, see The Land Trust.

In the United States, the land owned by the United States government and held in trust for Native American tribes and individuals is sometimes referred to as a land trust.


In Australia, Aboriginal land trusts are a type of non-profit organisation that holds the freehold title to an area of land on behalf of a community of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.

History[edit]

Ancient example[edit]

Possible earliest concept of equity in land held in trust is the depiction of this ancient king (trustor) which grants property back to its previous owner (beneficiary) during his absence, supported by witness testimony (trustee). In essence and in this case, the king, in place of the later state (trustor and holder of assets at highest position) issues ownership along with past proceeds (equity) back to the beneficiary:[1]

Other types[edit]

In the United States; approximately 230,000 square kilometres (89,000 sq mi) (as of 2008) of land are owned by the United States government and held in trust for Native American tribes and individuals.[11]


In Australia, Aboriginal land trusts are a type of non-profit organisation that holds the freehold title to an area of land on behalf of a community of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.[12][13]

Conservation community

Cooperative

Green belt

Intentional community