In the last 30 years, China’s record economic growth lifted half a billion people out of poverty, with rapid urbanization providing abundant labor, cheap land, and good infrastructure. While China has avoided some of the common ills of urbanization, strains are showing as inefficient land development leads to urban sprawl and ghost towns, pollution threatens people’s health, and farmland and water resources are becoming scarce.

Over the coming decades, land policy and
administration, for urban as well as rural areas, will be
critical for Ethiopia's development. The vast majority
of people making up the Federal Democratic Republic of
Ethiopia's (FDRE) predominantly agricultural economy
live in rural areas. Finally, land policies and
administration can contribute significantly to the
objectives of promoting gender equality and protecting

The report, Land Tenure for Social and
Economic Inclusion in Yemen: Issues and Opportunities was
completed in December 2009. The report addresses the
problems of land ownership in Yemen and the various social
and economic problems associated with the system of land
ownership. Property rights under Yemeni Law are expressed
both in custom and statute, but both are informed by shari a
(Islamic law), which provides the basic property categories

A decade ago in Mozambique, a stakeholder workshop where the need to improve access to industrial and commercial land as a means to encourage investment was a topic of discussion, a government official came up to. In order to create new jobs, generate more income, and modernize the economy, many countries see an urgent need to encourage industrial and commercial investment, both domestic and foreign. However, investment in many sectors cannot take place unless land, along with other basic factors of production, is available.

The World Bank has funded land reform, land administration, and land management projects in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region since the early 1990s. The region comprises the 15 countries of the former Soviet Union, the former socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe, and Turkey. Both the privatization of land and property assets and their efficient management and mobilization in the credit markets have been at the center of the transitional reforms to date.

This study explores the reasons behind the government’s exclusion of many Phnom Penh urban poor communities (UPCs) from the Systematic Land Registration (SLR) process, and the impact of this on affected households, particularly women and children. The study was conducted in 12 UPCs that had been excluded from the SLR process in six khans where SLR had been completed or was well under way. Data collection methods included interviews with 60 households from excluded UPCs, as well as village chiefs, community representatives, government officials, and NGO members.

This brief provides an update on the status of Phnom Penh’s Boeung Tompun lake since approval was granted for private development in 2009. The brief outlines the lake’s role in reducing flooding, and provides case studies of five residents under threat of forced evictions. Includes a map of Boeung Tompun and key sites. Available in English and Khmer.

This paper explores land policy for socioeconomic development in Vietnam. The research is based on field work, discussions with officials and scholars and background research, and highlights topics critical to the formulation and implementation of land policy. These topics – land as an asset, complementary public investments that raise the efficiency of land use, land conversion, food security, land consolidation, land and property taxation, and environmental sustainability – have been examined within a law and economics framework.

"The Government of Liberia is in the process of drafting new land laws that give people ownership rights over their customary lands. This guide teaches communities how to go through the process of getting papers (deeds) for their land. The end result of doing all of the work explained in this guide will be both papers for your land and a more organized, more united, and more peaceful community ready to develop and grow."

This report provides select findings of an extensive survey of relocation sites in and around Phnom Penh, conducted in 2011 and 2012. The aim of the report is to highlight some key issues facing residents at existing relocation sites, and provide recommendations for both improving existing sites and improving future relocation practices, in cases when relocation is considered unavoidable. The report follows a previous 2007 report ‘Relocation sites in Phnom Penh’.

This report is a review of city’s development paradigm, including an examination of urban services and infrastructure, the regulatory framework, mobility networks, major stakeholders, and key issues in the city's development. The authors argue that Phnom Penh stands at a crossroads. Ahead is the continuation of a “planned” development of the city first developed by the French and then adopted by the Sihanouk regime. To either side is the new “unplanned” approach, a path that already seems to be the favored choice.

A study summarising existing information related to land issues and governance of indigenous communities, and assessing the impact of economic land concessions on indigenous communities in the northeast of Cambodia. The study explores land acquisition, land regulation and governance practices, and the consequences for indigenous peoples in terms of livelihoods, agricultural systems and socio-cultural practices. The author asks what may be done to best support these communities in attaining equitable and sustainable development.