The phrase “land grab” has become common in Myanmar, often making front page news. This reflects the more open political space available to talk about injustices, as well as the escalating severity and degree of land dispossession under the new government.

But this seemingly simple two-word phrase is in fact very complex and opaque. It thus deserves greater clarity in order to better understand the deep layers of meaning to farmers in the historical political context of Myanmar.

The Farmland Law and the VFV Law were approved by Parliament on March 30th, 2012. There have
been a few improvements compared to previous laws such as recognition of
non-rotational taungya as
a legitimate land-use and recognition that farmers are using VFV lands without formal recognition by
the Government. However overall the Laws lack clarity and provide
weak protection of the rights of
smallholder farmers in upland areas and do not explicitly state the equal rights
of women to register

Table of Contents:-
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND MAJOR FINDINGS …
2. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW ...
3. NATIONAL FOREST STRATEGY, POLICIES AND REGULATIONS:
3.1 The Myanmar Selection System and Annual Allowable Cut;
3.2 Forest Law and Policy ;
3.3 Forest Land Categories;
3.4 Community Forestry;
3.5 Impact of Forest Law Enforcement on Local People...
4. DEMAND: DOMESTIC DEMAND AND WOOD EXPORTS:
4.1 Domestic Demand ;
4.2 Exports ...
5. TIMBER SUPPLY: DOMESTIC PRODUCTION AND WOOD IMPORTS:
5.1 Domestic Wood Production;

The new wave of political reforms have set Myanmar on a road to
unprecedented economic expansion, but,
without
targeted policy
efforts and
regulation to
even the playing field, the benefits of new
investment will filter down to only a few,
leaving
small
-
scale farmers
–
the backbone of the Myanmar economy
–
unable
to benefit from

The new National Land Use Policy is a positive step, but its principles need to be enshrined in law to protect the vulnerable from land grabs and forced evictions...

Disputes over land ownership and use are a major source of social and economic tension in Myanmar as it grapples with political transition and economic development.

Irresponsible investment against the interests and wishes of communities which results in the widespread violation of land-related human rights has been allowed for too long.

WEBSITE ABSTRACT: This thematic study explores the possibilities for strengthening the recognition of customary tenure in Vietnam. It begins with an overview of customary tenure in Vietnam, particularly in upland forest areas where customary systems still prevail. In upland areas, forest land allocation policies have been underway since the 1990s to claim back forest land from unproductive state-owned forest enterprises (SFEs) for redistribution to local forest users.

Land is often the most significant asset of most rural families.
70% of Myanmar’s
population lives in rural areas and 70% of the population is engaged in agriculture and
related activities.

A network of land-focused civil society organisations has raised concerns that bylaws for two new pieces of land legislation fail to offer proper protection for upland farmers who use shifting cultivation, leaving millions at risk of losing their land tenure rights.

Land Core Group chairman U Shwe Thein said that the recently introduced bylaw for the Farmland Law interprets taungya, or upland farming, as only fields under permanent cultivation. This leaves farmers who practise upland shifting cultivation with little protection from losing their lands...

Date of adoption, 24 February 2012. Date of publication 25 February...We are not 100% sure if this English version is of the adopted law or if there were amendments...this version is a bit blurry with Firefox. Try Chrome or IE.

...Life for farmers and workers in Burma is growing increasingly more difficult. The minimum wage fails to provide the ‘just and favourable remuneration’ that ensures ‘an existence worthy of human dignity’ that is guaranteed by Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission...