The dramatic increase in migration and settlement in several areas where indigenous people live is leading to a multitude of problems for the original inhabitants. Lowland immigrants are taking advantage of the vulnerable situation of indigenous people, and the absence of regulations, to lay claim to the people’s traditional lands. Illegal land transactions are taking place at an alarming rate without thought of the problems that would result from widespread landlessness among indigenous peoples or the impact this is likely to have on the remaining forested areas.

ABSTRACTED FROM THE INTRODUCTION: My focus in this paper is on the kinds of development pursued by state agencies and large international aid organisations, and specifically, the displacement effects of what I am calling the new land tenure reform agenda. I will illustrate my arguments through an account of the Land and Forest Allocation Programme in Laos.

Over 943,069 hectares of land in rural Cambodia have been granted to private companies as economic land concessions, for the development of agro-industrial plantations. Thirty-six of these 59 concessions have been granted in favour of foreign business interests or prominent political and business figures. These statistics exclude smaller economic land concessions granted at the provincial level, for which information on numbers and ownership has not been disclosed.

Land is the repository of memory and keeps traces of the past in the absence of a strong written tradition. It is perceived as an open book from which anyone can read and learn about local history: place names, old roads, legends and stories attached to places. For local people, bulldozing the landscape is seen as erasing their history, and disturbing social organisations and traditions. In Cambodia--as in many other countries--land is an extremely important economic resource and asset. Land is livelihood.

ABSTRACTED FROM THE MISSION STATEMENT: The primary purpose of his mission was for the Special Representative to update himself on the human rights situation in Cambodia for his report to the 61st session of the Commission on Human Rights. He paid particular attention to the management of land and natural resources, the continuing problem of impunity, and to corruption which impacts negatively on the realisation of a range of human rights and distorts the allocation of economic resources so as to further exacerbate existing inequalities.

Land is the most important productive asset in agrarian societies such as Cambodia’s. Throughout Cambodian history, land ownership rights have varied with changes in government. In the period before French colonisation (pre-1863), when all land belonged to the sovereign, people were freely allowed to till unoccupied land and could cultivate as much as they liked. With French colonisation, a property-rights system was introduced in 1884.

Land and the New Urban Agenda - Briefing Note for POLICY MAKERS

As the world is urbanizing, many cities are grappling with a population that is growing rapidly, thereby increasing demand for land and housing. This pressure on land and housing markets often is exacerbated by inappropriate or inadequate policies. The result is a supply of well-located land and housing that falls well short of demand and the proliferation of poorly serviced informal settlements, many of which are located far from jobs, city services and amenities.

Draft report of the Scoping Study about Responsible Governance and Secure Tenure of Urban and Peri-Urban Land in Latin America and the Caribbean: Analysis of 10 Countries, discussed during the Experts Group Meeting held in San José, Costa Rica, July 2016. This study aims to generate recommendations for partnerships, collaboration, and action to advancing responsible governance, and land tools for access to and secure land tenure, and contribute to the effective implementation of the New Agenda Urbana in the Latin America and Caribbean region.

Extended abstract. Habitat for Humanity Brazil (HFH) and The Center Dom Helder Camara CENDHEC are partner implementers of the Empowering Women and Vulnerable Groups to Exercise their Rights for Inclusion and Secure Land Tenure and Property Project. In Brazil around 40% of families living in urban areas do not legally possess a property or any legal document(s) to confirm possession of the land on which they live.

Presentación Diego Restrepo durante la Reunión de Expertos sobre Gobernanza Responsable del Suelo y Tenencia Segura en América Latina y Caribe, en San José, Costa Rica, Julio 2016.

Agenda de la Reunión de Expertos que se realizó el 14 y 15 de Julio en San José, Costa Rica donde representantes de diversos sectores (públicos, academia, OSC, privado) para revisar el Reporte preliminar Gobernanza Responsable y Tenencia Segura del Suelo de Áreas Urbanas y Peri-Urbanas en América Latina y el Caribe: Análisis de 10 países".