Historical Changes of Land Tenure and Land Use Rights in a Local Community: A Case Study in Lao PDR | Land Portal

Informations sur la ressource

Date of publication: 
décembre 2016
Resource Language: 
ISBN / Resource ID: 
MLRF:2100
Pages: 
1-20
License of the resource: 

Land-titling programs, land and forest allocation programs, and projects on state-allocated land for development and investment in Laos have been key drivers of change in land tenure. These have triggered major shifts in land use rights, from customary, to temporary, and then to permanent land use rights. This article explores how government programs to grant land use rights to individual households have affected the way people have been able to acquire and secure land tenure. For our case study, we selected the village of Napo, the target of many land tenure changes in the past four decades. We collected data from district offices, group discussions with village organizations, and interviews with selected households. The study shows how land use rights shifted over time and reveals that households obtained most of their agricultural land and forestland through a claim process. Original households were mainly land claimers, while migrants were land buyers. The process of formalization and allocation of tenure triggered inequality among households. Attention is needed in future land governance and tenure reforms in order to safeguard the land use rights of local people in an equitable manner.

Auteurs et éditeurs

Author(s), editor(s), contributor(s): 

Boutthavong, Saykham
Hyakumura, Kimihiko
Ehara, Makoto
Fujiwara, Takahiro

Fournisseur de données

The purpose of the Mekong Land Research Forum online site is to provide structured access to published and unpublished research on land issues in the Mekong Region. It is based on the premise that debates and decisions around land governance can be enhanced by drawing on the considerable volume of research, documented experience and action-based reflection that is available.

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