Land alienation in Ratanakiri Province
Encyclopedia
Despite a 2001 law allowing indigenous communities to obtain collective title to traditional lands, land alienation has been a major problem in Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia
; some villages have been left nearly landless. The national government has granted concessions
over land traditionally possessed by Ratanakiri's indigenous peoples, and even land "sales" have often involved bribes to officials, coercion, threats, or misinformation. For instance, a group of Ratanakiri villagers in 2001 were given salt and promises of development by military representatives in exchange for thumbprinting documents that—unbeknownst to them—transferred ownership of their ancestral lands to a military general. Following the involvement of several international NGOs, land alienation has decreased in frequency. These NGOs have assisted in the training of provincial government officials, promoting understanding of indigenous community concerns as well as encouraging dialog between the provincial and national governments. Pilot communal land titling
projects have aimed to give legal force to traditional land ownership. Community natural resource management initiatives in Ratanakiri have been successful and have served as models for similar programs on a national level.
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
; some villages have been left nearly landless. The national government has granted concessions
Concession (contract)
A concession is a business operated under a contract or license associated with a degree of exclusivity in business within a certain geographical area. For example, sports arenas or public parks may have concession stands. Many department stores contain numerous concessions operated by other...
over land traditionally possessed by Ratanakiri's indigenous peoples, and even land "sales" have often involved bribes to officials, coercion, threats, or misinformation. For instance, a group of Ratanakiri villagers in 2001 were given salt and promises of development by military representatives in exchange for thumbprinting documents that—unbeknownst to them—transferred ownership of their ancestral lands to a military general. Following the involvement of several international NGOs, land alienation has decreased in frequency. These NGOs have assisted in the training of provincial government officials, promoting understanding of indigenous community concerns as well as encouraging dialog between the provincial and national governments. Pilot communal land titling
Land titling
Land titling is a form of land reform in which private individuals and families are given formal property rights for land which they have previously occupied informally or used on the basis of customary land tenure...
projects have aimed to give legal force to traditional land ownership. Community natural resource management initiatives in Ratanakiri have been successful and have served as models for similar programs on a national level.
Further reading
- Land alienation in indigenous minority communities, Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia. NGO Forum on Cambodia (2006). ISBN 8791563208.