ABSTRACTED FROM THE INTRODUCTION: My focus in this paper is on the kinds of development pursued by state agencies and large international aid organisations, and specifically, the displacement effects of what I am calling the new land tenure reform agenda. I will illustrate my arguments through an account of the Land and Forest Allocation Programme in Laos.

Over 943,069 hectares of land in rural Cambodia have been granted to private companies as economic land concessions, for the development of agro-industrial plantations. Thirty-six of these 59 concessions have been granted in favour of foreign business interests or prominent political and business figures. These statistics exclude smaller economic land concessions granted at the provincial level, for which information on numbers and ownership has not been disclosed.

Land is the repository of memory and keeps traces of the past in the absence of a strong written tradition. It is perceived as an open book from which anyone can read and learn about local history: place names, old roads, legends and stories attached to places. For local people, bulldozing the landscape is seen as erasing their history, and disturbing social organisations and traditions. In Cambodia--as in many other countries--land is an extremely important economic resource and asset. Land is livelihood.

ABSTRACTED FROM THE MISSION STATEMENT: The primary purpose of his mission was for the Special Representative to update himself on the human rights situation in Cambodia for his report to the 61st session of the Commission on Human Rights. He paid particular attention to the management of land and natural resources, the continuing problem of impunity, and to corruption which impacts negatively on the realisation of a range of human rights and distorts the allocation of economic resources so as to further exacerbate existing inequalities.

The dramatic increase in migration and settlement in several areas where indigenous people live is leading to a multitude of problems for the original inhabitants. Lowland immigrants are taking advantage of the vulnerable situation of indigenous people, and the absence of regulations, to lay claim to the people’s traditional lands. Illegal land transactions are taking place at an alarming rate without thought of the problems that would result from widespread landlessness among indigenous peoples or the impact this is likely to have on the remaining forested areas.

Land is the most important productive asset in agrarian societies such as Cambodia’s. Throughout Cambodian history, land ownership rights have varied with changes in government. In the period before French colonisation (pre-1863), when all land belonged to the sovereign, people were freely allowed to till unoccupied land and could cultivate as much as they liked. With French colonisation, a property-rights system was introduced in 1884.

Reporte preliminar del estudio Gobernanza Responsable y Tenencia Segura del Suelo de Áreas Urbanas y Peri-Urbanas en América Latina y el Caribe: Análisis de 10 países". El estudio busca generar recomendaciones para alianzas, colaboración, y acción entre diferentes sectores con el objetivo de avanzar en gobernancia responsable, instrumentos de suelos para el acceso y tenencia segura, y contribuir a una efectiva implementación de la Nueva Agenda Urbana en la región América Latina y Caribe.

Full paper presented at the "ANNUAL WORLD BANK CONFERENCE ON LAND AND POVERTY" The World Bank - Washington DC, April 23-26, 2012. Prepared based on the Land Regularization experiences of Habitat for Humanity Brazil and Centro Dom Helder C¢mara de Estudos e Ação Social Cendhec, in Recife, Brazil. KEYWORDS: Access to Justice, Women and Economically Vulnerable Groups, Land Governance, Land Tenure, Special Collective Usucapion

Apresentação de Evaniza Rodrigues, Brasil, para a Reunião de Especialistas sobre Governança do Solo e Segurança de Posse na América Latina e Caribe, realizada em San José, Costa Rica, em Julho 2016. Função social da propriedade urbana: a cidade não é um negócio, a cidade é de todos nós.

Statement proffered at Habitat III Informal Hearing with Stakeholders Panel 4 Effective Implementation, June 7th 2016, by Maria Luisa Alvarado, representing Habitat for Humanity International Latin America and the Caribbean region, and speaking as a member of the Civil Society Organization Partner Constituent Group of the General Assembly of Partners.

Cooperativas de vivienda de usuarios por ayuda mutua y autogestión Viceministerio de Vivienda y Asentamientos Humanos de Costa Rica

Un resumen de experiencias prometedoras en materia de vivienda adecuada y asentamientos humanos en América Latina y el Caribe. Dichas experiencias fueron seleccionadas por medio de un Comité Calificador, compuesto por representantes de las instituciones organizadoras del Foro Latinoamericano y del Caribe de Vivienda Adecuada, a partir de más de 70 concursantes.