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The purpose of the Mekong Land Research Forum online site is to provide structured access to published and unpublished research on land issues in the Mekong Region.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.
Members:
Resources
Displaying 431 - 435 of 564USAID Country Profile: Property Rights and Resource Governance - Burma
Burma is situated in Southeastern Asia, bordering Bangladesh, India, China, Laos and Thailand. The majority of its population lives in rural areas and depends on land as a primary means of livelihood. Because all land in Burma ultimately belongs to the state, citizens and organizations depend upon use-rights, but do not own land. Burma’s laws grant women equal rights in some respects and also recognize certain customary laws that provide women equal rights in relation to land.
Revitalizing Agriculture in Myanmar: Breaking Down Barriers, Building a Framework for Growth
ABSTRACTED FROM THE INTRODUCTION: This is a study of the rice economy in Myanmar. It seeks to identify barriers and bottlenecks that are hindering growth and depressing value in a sector that must play a central role in alleviating the extreme poverty that currently afflicts an expanding proportion of rural households.
Social Land Policy for Sustainable Rural Development in Cambodia
On 1st of July 2009, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen signed the “Declaration of the Royal Government on Land Policy”. According to this document emphasis should be given to State reform, land law, and environmental law with their impacts on the use of non-renewable resources (land, water, and soil). The implementation of the Cambodian social land policy should start with the need to ensure access to land and to sustain rural development and environment for a modern, prosperous Cambodia.
Norms and Practices In Contemporary Rural Vietnam: Social Interaction Between Authorities and People
Since the 1980s, while trying to maintain political stability and territorial integrity, the Vietnamese state has strongly moved towards the transformation of a centrally-planned economy to a more market-oriented model, in which private, foreign and joint-venture businesses are increasingly becoming the key pillars of the national economy.
Tyrants, Tycoons and Tigers
ABSTRACTED FROM SUMMARY: A bitter land struggle is unfolding in northern Burma’s remote Hugawng Valley. Farmers that have been living for generations in the valley are defying one of the country’s most powerful tycoons as his company establishes massive mono-crop plantations in what happens to be the world’s largest tiger reserve. The Hukawng Valley Tiger Reserve in Kachin State was declared by the Myanmar Government in 2001 with the support of the US-based Wildlife Conservation Society.