Organised by the Land Deals Politics Initiative (LDPI) in collaboration with the Journal of Peasant Studies and hosted by the Future Agricultures Consortium at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex...Rich site with full texts of more than 170 papers and presentations from the Conference
Customary communal tenure is characteristic of many local shifting cultivation upland communities in S.E. Asia. These communities have strong ancestral relationships to their land, which has never been held under individual rights, but considered common property of the village. Communal tenure has been the norm and land has never been a commodity...
The State Law and Order Restoration Council Law No. 1/92 -
The 1st Waning Day of Tabodwe, 1353 ME -
19 February 1992 -
"Whereas it is expedient to provide for the repeal of certain laws from among existing laws, which on
scrutiny have been found to be no longer in conformity with the changing circumstances, laws which have
not been in use for a very long time and laws for which there are no reasons for use in future, the State
Law and Order Restoration Council hereby enacts this Law..."
[137 laws repealed]
..Rights to land in Burma are bound up with issues of ethnic conflict, militarisation and lack of democratic institutions.
A future democratic Burma will need to seek ways to resolve competing claims to land, taking into account such issues
as traditional ownership by particular ethnic nationalities, return of displaced persons, varying religious ties to land,
development imperatives and agricultural demands. The chosen method of resolution will need to address, as much as
possible, the needs for certainty, efficiency and a fair hearing for those concerned.
... This piece of community initiated action research reveals a number of lessons we can learn. The authors try to reflect the challenges of and opportunities for community based natural resources management in a seemingly forgotten Karen controlled area of southern Myanmar. The paper examines a number of case studies including the construction of a local water supply system, the establishment of fish conservation zones and community-driven forest conservation.
This report is a preliminary exploration of forced migration/internal displacement in Burma/Myanmar in two main areas. The first is the status in terms of international standards, specifically those embodied in the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, of the people who leave home not because of conflict or relocation orders, but as a result of a range of coercive measures which drive down incomes to the point that the household economy collapses and people have no choice but to leave home.
The Government of the Union of Myanmar -
The Central Committee for the Management of Culturable Land, Fallow Land and waste Land -
Notification No. 1/91 -
6th waxing Day of Nadaw, 1353 M.E -
(12th December, 1991)
The State Law and Order Restoration Council Law No. 8/92 -
The 9th Waning Day of Tazaungmon, 1354 M.E. -
3 November 1992
The State Law and Order Restoration Council Law No. 5/95 -
The 6th Waxing of Kason, 1357 ME. -
4 May 1995
Mission Statement: "The Back Pack Health Worker Team (BPHWT) is an independent, nonprofit, multi-ethnic organization dedicated to providing primary health care to ethnic groups and vulnerable populations in armed conflict and rural areas of Burma, where access to healthcare is otherwise unavailable. Furthermore, by equipping communities with the skills and knowledge necessary to manage their own health issues, the Back Pack Health Worker Team is dedicated to the long-term, sustainable development of a healthy society in Burma.
Highly recommended. Well-organised site. In "list of sources used" are most of the main reports from 1995 bearing on IDPs (though the reports from 1995 to 1997 are missing - temporarily, one hopes) and more Burma pages updated June 2001. Go to the home page for links on IDPs, including the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement.