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The purpose of the Mekong Land Research Forum online site is to provide structured access to published and unpublished research on land issues in the Mekong Region.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. The online site seeks to organise the combined work of many researchers, practitioners and policy advocates around key themes relevant to the land security, and hence well-being, of smallholders in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
The research material on this site is mounted at three levels:
First, a selection of journal articles, reports and other materials is provided and organised thematically to assist researchers, practitioners and policy advocates to draw on one another’s work and hence build up a collective body of knowledge. This is the most “passive” presentation of the research material; our contribution is to find and select the most relevant material and to organise it into key themes. In some cases the entire article is available. In others, for copyright reasons, only an abstract or summary is available and users will need to access documents through the relevant journal or organisation.
Second, a sub-set of the articles has been annotated, with overall commentary on the significance of the article and the research on which it is based, plus commentary relevant to each of the key themes addressed by the article.
Third, the findings and key messages of the annotated articles are synthesised into summaries of each of fourteen key themes. For each key theme, there is a one-page overall summary. Extended summaries are being developed progressively for each theme as part of the Forum's ongoing activity.
Overall, we intend that this online site will contribute toward evidence-based progressive policy reform in the key area of land governance. We further hope that it will thereby contribute toward to the well-being of the rural poor, ethnic minorities and women in particular, who face disadvantage in making a living as a result of insecure land tenure.
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Resources
Displaying 36 - 40 of 564Framing China’s role in global land deal trends: why Southeast Asia is key
As Chinese investment in foreign land and agriculture expands dramatically worldwide, a growing body of research has emerged on the prevalence of land deals in Latin America and Africa. Southeast Asia, however, has only recently begun to receive significant attention in these discussions. A deeper exploration of the Southeast Asian context offers crucial insights into understanding the puzzle of global land deals (why, where, how they occur) more broadly.
How does organic agriculture contribute to food security of small land holders?: A case study in the North of Thailand
There has been a trend to encourage organic agriculture in response to improve global food security. This article investigated how organic agriculture contributed to food security of small land holders experiencing organic agriculture. It involved in-depth interview, focus group, and participatory observation from a purposive sample of thirty participants at San Sai and Muang Wa Villages, Luang Neua Sub-District, Doi Sa Ket District, Chiang Mai Province, the north of Thailand.
Linking climate change strategies and land conflicts in Cambodia: Evidence from the Greater Aural region
This paper investigates how climate change strategies and resource conflicts are shaping each other in the Greater Aural region of western Cambodia. Agro-industrial projects linked to climate change goals are reshaping both social and ecological dynamics, by altering patterns of access to land and water resources as well as the nature of the resources themselves. Using a landscape perspective, we investigate these social and ecological changes occurring across space and time.
Gendered experiences of land confiscation in Myanmar: Insights from eastern Bago Region and Kayin State
ABSTRACTED FROM EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The aim of this report is to improve understanding of how to mainstream gender sensitivity into actions that seek to support communities to address land confiscations. It presents the synthesis of two two-day workshops with a group of 12 men and 12 women affected by land confiscations from Taungoo and Htantabin townships in eastern Bago Region and Thandaunggyi Township in Kayin State. Therefore, it is important to note that the small sample may not necessarily be representative of gendered experiences of land confiscation elsewhere in Myanmar.
Land Ownership and Informal Credit in Rural Vietnam
Access to credit and its cost is a major challenge for farmers in developing countries. Several studies show that land serves as collateral for accessing formal credit, but they often do not find any significant effect of land size on access to informal credit. I study the effects of land ownership on both the demand and the cost of informal credit in the Mekong Delta. The results show that as land ownership increases, both the demand and the cost of informal loans decrease.