From the 28- 30 May 2018 , The Mekong Region Land Governance (MRLG) project and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) welcomed participants to join in on the second Regional Land Forum, held in Bangkok, Thailand.  

Context and Background

Issues related to effective Land Governance remain at the centre of development challenges in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) and thus it is essential for governments in the region to turn their attention to associated practical, legal and policy issues. Within this context, the MRLG project since 2014, has been working with FAO and a broad range of partners to contribute to improved land governance policy and practice.

The MRLG project is currently in transition between the completion of its first Phase 1 (June 2018) and the commencement of Phase 2 (July 2018). Key findings from the recently concluded End of Phase 1 Review identified that continuing government engagement will be essential if MRLG is to achieve its stated aims and objectives towards improved land governance policy and practice during Phase 2.

With the specific focus on ‘policy influencing’ for Phase 2 and the joint activities with FAO, and with the dual objective of exposure to the wider land governance debate and the provision of an opportunity to share knowledge and learning, MRLG and FAO[1] (as co-hosts of the event) invited esteemed colleagues and officials to the Second Regional Land Forum.

At the conclusion of our First Regional Land Forum, there was a call to hold a second. The Second Regional Land Forum was an opportunity for expert discussion, knowledge sharing, policy dialogue and action planning on key land governance policies and practice, with emphasis on the rights of smallholder farmers in the Mekong Region.
 

Objectives and activities

The central goal of the Second Regional Land Forum was to provide a multi-stakeholder platform for networking and dialogue on land governance issues specifically related to responsible agricultural investment and customary tenure. It is perceived (as was the case during the first forum) that as a regional conversation, the sensitivities that lie at country level can be more openly discussed.
 

What was the specific objective of the Forum?

1. Bring together land governance stakeholders in the Region to showcase knowledge products and success stories, solutions and results, particularly from Phase 1 MRLG activities as well as other relevant independent activities of partners over the past 4 years.
2. Facilitate an exclusive round table policy dialogue on regional large-scale land investments and customary tenure recognition issues with government officials presenting key results and pointing to key debate topics.
3. Showcase pilot initiatives of MRLG partners to donors working on land issues in the Mekong to instigate funding opportunities for our partners.