PUBLISHER'S ABSTRACT: The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 13 September 2007. Since then, the importance of the role that indigenous peoples play in economic, social and environmental conservation through traditional sustainable agricultural practices has been gradually recognized.

PUBLISHER'S ABSTRACT: This report discusses the political, economic and social opportunities and constraints that will influence the design and implementation of REDD+ in Vietnam. In particular, four major direct drivers (land conversion for agriculture; infrastructure development; logging (illegal and legal); forest fire) and three indirect drivers (pressure of population growth and migration; the state's weak forest management capacity; the limited funding available for forest protection) of deforestation and degradation in Vietnam are discussed, along with their implications for REDD+.

ABSTRACTED FROM IIED WEBSITE INTRODUCTION: One of the outputs of a research project considering shifting cultivation in Thailand, Lao PDR and Vietnam. It considers the dynamics of shifting cultivation and alternative land use systems in the context of highland development in Thailand, gathered in order to provide up-to-date information to policymakers. The study includes examination of national policies relating to highland areas and the impacts of such policies on local communities and land use patterns.

This article explores the nature of property rights systems, their evolution, and their effect on resource allocation. It is argued that certain institutional arrangements for land rights have evolved in order to reduce uncertainty and increase efficiency in credit as well as in land markets. Of particular relevance to developing countries, the article emphasizes the contribution of public sector infrastructure to effective land rights systems.

The establishment or upgrading of cadastres and land registration systems is viewed by many as an essential infrastructure investment to be considered by less developed countries. Nevertheless, while many will agree that cadastres and land registration are useful, a decision to actually invest in establishing or expanding these activities will be easier to undertake if it is demonstrated that the resulting benefits are higher than those of other public investments. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to report the results of a recent study undertaken in rural Thailand.

Life without liberty would result in some or the other form of slavery. Liberty cannot be there to a person having an empty stomach.The individual's right to life will have no meaning if the State fails to provide adequate food or food articles.The Indian Constitution provides «right to life» as a Fundamental
Right.That right is given a wide interpretation by the Supreme Court so as to include «right to food» so that democracy and full freedom can be achieved and slavery in any form is avoided.

Until 1978, the Afghan state was weak but stable. In contrast, rural regulatory structures that complemented the state have always been strong. It was only the attempt to establish a strong state on the basis of foreign ideologies and military over the heads of the rural population that ultimately led to chaos and collapse.Whereas the central state sometimes broke down, many state
institutions in the provinces demonstrated remarkable resilience, leading to a definite nation-state consciousness throughout large sections of the population.

In October 2014, for the first time in recent history, the government of Myanmar decided to organize a public consultation to inform the development of a national policy. To support this consultation process, several organizations decided to organize civil society pre-consultation activities to listen and gather concerns from smallholder farmers to formulate relevant recommendations for the policy dialogue.

As the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries (MAFF) aimed to finalize in the end of 2016 the draft law on agricultural lands that is currently in 6th draft, MRLG, together with other partners, has supported the NGO Forum on Cambodia to mobilize representatives of farmer organizations and CSOs so that they could voice their concerns over the draft law directly to MAFF. In close cooperation with MAFF, a 2-day national consultation workshop was held on 19-20 December 2016 in Phnom Penh.

The « Environment and Natural Resources Code of Cambodia » (Sixth Draft – – 20 November 2016) is a very extensive proposed law (535 pages !) which will have, if adopted, major impacts on many aspects of Cambodian development (Mines, Energy, Urban planning, etc..) but is particularly important for the management of Protected Areas and of Forests and Fisheries. The code has been elaborated by a panel of experts and several working groups led by Vishnu Law Group. A public national consultation has been organized by MOE in Dec 2016.

This short thematic study challenges the assumption that the legal framework to recognize and protect indigenous peoples’ (IP) customary lands is adequate and that the challenge lies in its implementation. With support from MRLG, a core group of IP NGOs of the Cambodia Indigenous Peoples Alliance (CIPA) held a series of seminars to scrutinize this legal framework, identify gaps and make recommendations for a revision of the supporting legal framework. The thematic study documents this joint reflection.

This short thematic study challenges the assumption that the legal framework to recognize and protect indigenous peoples’ (IP) customary lands is adequate and that the challenge lies in its implementation. With support from MRLG, a core group of IP NGOs of the Cambodia Indigenous Peoples Alliance (CIPA) held a series of seminars to scrutinize this legal framework, identify gaps and make recommendations for a revision of the supporting legal framework. The thematic study documents this joint reflection.