Cambodia is engaged in profound societal and economic changes usually referred to as “agrarian transition”.

Cambodia Development Review is published four times a year in simultaneous English- and Khmer-language editions by the Publisher: CDRI Cambodia Development Resource Institute in Phnom Penh. Cambodia Development Review provides a forum for the discussion of development issues affecting Cambodia. Economy Watch offers an independent assessment of Cambodia’s economic performance.

Agricultural production in Cambodia is concentrated in the northwestern districts bordering Thailand, on the central plains surrounding the Tonle Sap Lake and its river systems, along the Mekong and Bassac rivers towards the Mekong delta, and in the northern and northeastern provinces. In 2012, the total land-use area under major agricultural crops was about 4.015 million ha. Rice is the dominant crop, occupying about 2.968 million ha; non-rice crops are grown on about 1.047 million ha (MAFF 2012).

In this report, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) outlines the findings of its recent survey of households forcibly displaced by the Thilawa Special Economic Zone development project in Burma. The Japanese government and three Japanese companies partnered with the Burmese government and a consortium of Burmese companies to develop the site, a project that will require the relocation of nearly 1,000 families in total. PHR’s findings cover phase one of the project, during which 68 households were displaced.

ABSTRACTED FROM EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: In the last decade it has become widely accepted that insecurity of land tenure has a unique impact on women, particularly in the global South where, more often than not, women are the primary caregivers in a household. In Cambodia, where land conflict continues to be one of the most prevalent human rights issues in the country, this assertion deserves particular consideration.

This comprehensive review of Myanmar's policies regarding inward direct investment covers such issues as trends in investment in Myanmar, responsible business conduct, regulation and protection of investment, investment promotion and facilitation, tax policy, the financial sector in Myanmar, infrastructure in Myanmar, and sustainable investment in Myanmar's agriculture.

ABSTRACTED FROM THE INTRODUCTION: This study investigates the impact of a specific legal change to land rights in Vietnam. Land rights are an important issue in Vietnam, where agriculture accounts for nearly a quarter of gross domestic product (GDP) and two-thirds of the workforce is engaged in agricultural activities. Agricultural land in Vietnam was decollectivized in 1988, and land-use rights were granted to households.We focus on the subsequent land law of 1993, which gave house- holds the right to inherit, transfer, exchange, lease, and mortgage their land-use rights.

Increased global demand for land underscores the need for well-designed, country-level land policies to protect long-held rights, facilitate land access, and address constraints to growth. However, reforms are often technically complex, politically sensitive, and time consuming. It is thus critical to identify priority issues in a participatory way, have a clear understanding of how they fit into the broader policy context, and be able to monitor improvements over time.

Land, and its proper management, is a central issue in developing countries. Efficient use and management of land are key contributors to maximizing the potential benefits of sustainable socioeconomic development. Accurate and accessible land information is a necessary requirement for sustainable rural and urban development, which will contribute to the elimination of poverty. A well-functioning land market is crucial for achieving these goals and a prerequisite for a land market to function properly includes easy, rapid and cost-effective access to land information.

ABSTRACTED FROM THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: In May 2012 Prime Minister Hun Sen issued Directive 001 (also known as Order 01BB) on ‘Measures to strengthen and enhance the effectiveness of management of economic land concessions (ELCs)’ announcing a moratorium on the granting of new ELCs, the review of existing ELCs and the implementation of the so-called “leopard-skin” (or “tiger-skin”) policy, with the aim to allow communities to live side by side with the concessions.

Access to land empowered by law is a crucial issue for sustainable development of a modern, prosperous Cambodia where the social and ecological responsibilities are well developed and embedded in a State Land Management. The State is the main actor in the land sector and has to guarantee State public property which cannot be transformed into private property. Cambodia shows still a high rural poverty rate, land concentration and anarchy in illegal land possession, illegal claim of State land and protected areas as privately owned and unlawful logging.

The paper aims to identify the rationality of peasant communities and their contribution to rural development in Kampong Thom province. To do so; an interdisciplinary analytical framework addresses the dynamics of land use and land tenure; the strategies of labor force allocation as well as the determinants of land and labor agricultural productivities amongst peasant communities. It rests on details field surveys in two communes located in very distinct agro-ecological settings of Kampong Thom province.