The Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, exercising its given rights, and with the approval of
the Union Government, has issued the following rules in accordance with Section 34, Subsection
(a) of the Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Law - 1. These rules shall be called the Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Rules.
2. The terms and expressions used in these rules shall have the same meaning as used in the
Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Law. In addition, the following expressions shall
have the meanings as stated below:

(State Peace and Development Council Law No. 1/2005)
The 4th Waxing Day of Pyatho, 1366 M.E
(13th January, 2005)

The HLP [Housing, Land and Property]choices the nation makes in the coming months will largely determine
whether this unbelievably beautiful land, and its proud and wonderful people, will
face the tumult, inequities and tragic HLP outcomes of so many other nations of
transition; or whether Myanmar can chart an entirely new HLP path, which ushers in
a truly new HLP dawn, whereby every one of the country’s 55 million citizens can –
as rapidly as possible – enjoy growing security of tenure, improving housing and

(THE UNION OF BURMA REVOLUTIONARY COUNCIL LAW NO. 2 OF 1965)

Renting Land for Cultivation Law...
The Union of Burma Revolutionary Council Law 8, 1963

CONCLUSION:
"A developing country like Lao PDR is struggling to gain recognition from other countries
in the world. This requires that the country applies a human rights perspective to
governance of land. In this case the land rights are the rights of the ethnic groups in the
uplands that practice customary communal tenure. These groups would like the
government to accept and register their communal land use legally. The first step
towards this is in the development of the National Land Use Policy which is still in draft.

agrarian

Official Burmese and English versions; unofficial English version (Habitat)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: "In recent years, many governments globally have formally recognized community land and natural resource tenure, either based on existing customary practices or more recently established land governance arrangements.1 These tenure arrangements have been called by a variety of names, such as community, customary, communal, collective, indigenous, ancestral, or native land rights recognition. In essence, they seek to establish the rights of a group to obtain joint tenure security over their community’s land.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
"Myanmar’s agricultural sector has for long suffered due to multiplicity of laws and regulations, deficient and degraded infrastructure, poor policies and planning, a chronic lack of credit, and an absence of tenure security for cultivators. These woes negate Myanmar’s bountiful natural endowments and immense agricultural potential, pushing its rural populace towards dire poverty.

1. Introduction 1;
2. Historical Context and Current Implications of the State Taking Control
of People, Land and Livelihood 2;
2.1. Under the Democratically Elected Government 2;
2.1.1. The Land Nationalization Act 1953 2;
2.1.2. The Agricultural Lands Act 1953 2;
3. Under the Revolutionary Council (1962-1974) 2;
3.1. The Tenancy Act 1963 3;
3.2. The Protection of the Right of Cultivation Act, 1963 3;
4. The State Gains Further Control over the Livelihoods of Households 3;

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS:-
(1) TO MYANMAR LAWYERS:
"a. Lawyers need to form strong networks and associations to support farmers, ethnic groups and community organizations...
b. Lawyers need to develop new skills to participate in policy advocacy, including collecting data about current practices, and engage in a national debate about land rights...
c. Lawyers working on land rights cases need to use all available tools to strengthen their case work (see annex 2 for a list of practical actions lawyers can take).....
(2) TO CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS: