We envision a world in which land governance systems, both formal and informal, are effective, accessible, and responsive for all.

...The main purpose of this paper is to examine legal measures taken to recognize
indigenous groups and provide for their ongoing operation; the paper starts, therefore, from an
underlying assumption that indigenous groups have continued relevance to the needs and wishes
of the people who operate within them. Nevertheless, while it is beyond the scope and purpose of
the paper to explore this complex issue in any depth, it may be useful to present – however briefly
– some of the arguments made for and against the preservation of indigenous groups. In the

As Myanmar’s opening economy is celebrated, rights activists warn it will see people who have lived in areas for generations forced out under ‘legal’ means that merely cover mercenary greed.

BURMA: Farmers' land fight celebrated in new booklet...

(Hong Kong, January 10, 2012) A Burma-based rights group has released a new publication documenting and recounting the courageous fight against land expropriation, intimidation and false prosecution of a group of rural villagers.

This report provides an overview of issues related to upland smallholder land tenure. The immediate
objective of the report is to promote a shared understanding of land tenure issues by national-level
stakeholders, with a longer term objective of improving the land tenure, livelihood and food security of
upland farm families. The report is intended for government and non-government agencies, policy
makers and those impacted by policy. The report covers four main areas: status of and trends in upland

Access to land for smallholder farmers is a critical foundation for food security in Myanmar's uplands. Land tenure guarantees seem to be eroding and access to land becoming more difficult in some upland areas. If this trend continues it may have negative impacts for food security and undermine environmental and economic sustainability. This briefing paper explores the relationship between land tenure and food security, as well as key institutional and other factors that influence land access and tenure for smallholder farmers in the uplands today.

Access to land for smallholder farmers is a critical foundation for food security in Myanmar's uplands. Land tenure guarantees seem to be eroding and access to land becoming more difficult in some upland areas. If this trend continues it may have negative impacts for food security and undermine environmental and economic sustainability. This briefing paper explores the relationship between land tenure and food security, as well as key institutional and other factors that influence land access and tenure for smallholder farmers in the uplands today...

Summary: "This paper presents an overview of the distinctive
features of communal tenure in
different community-based land and natural resource
management systems. Communal
tenure refers to situations where groups, communities, or one or more villages have
well defined, exclusive rights to jointly own and/or manage particular areas of natural
resources such as land, forest and water. These are
often referred to as
common pool
resources: many rural communities are dependent on these resources for their

This report provides an overview of issues related to upland smallholder land tenure. The immediate
objective of the report is to promote a shared understanding of land tenure issues by national-level
stakeholders, with a longer term objective of improving the land tenure, livelihood and food security of
upland farm families. The report is intended for government and non-government agencies, policy
makers and those impacted by policy. The report covers four main areas: status of and trends in upland

In a written statement during its September 2011 session, the Asian Legal Resource Centre alerted the Human Rights Council to the dangers posed to the rights of people in Myanmar by the convergence of military, business and administrative interests in new projects aimed at displacing cultivators and residents from their farms and homes.

Articles on this category from BurmaNet News

Northern Burma’s borderlands have undergone dramatic changes in the last two decades. Three main and
interconnected developments are simultaneously taking place in Shan State and Kachin State: (1) the increase
in opium cultivation in Burma since 2006 after a decade of steady decline; (2) the increase at about the same
time in Chinese agricultural investments in northern Burma under China’s opium substitution programme,
especially in rubber; and (3) the related increase in dispossession of local communities’ land and livelihoods