In Cambodia, land and natural resources occupy a central place in the production systems of peasants who represent about 80 percent of the country’s population. The development and governance of socio-ecological systems trigger considerable economic, social and environmental issues that need to be addressed urgently given the profound nature of the transformations at play in these systems across Cambodia. Against the background of Cambodian peasant conceptions of, and approaches towards, land tenure security, we present the historical evolution of, and current challenges presented by, various land reforms that have attempted to formalize the land property rights system in the Kingdom. We suggest that current land tenure regimes in Cambodia are highly fragmented between lowland central plains and peripheral uplands, which has yielded problematic results. We discuss the attempts by the government to address the ensuing contradictions.
Authors and Publishers
Jean-Christophe Diepart
The ‘Land Tenure and Development’ Technical Committee is a working group composed of French Cooperation experts, researchers and decision-makers. Since its creation in 1996 it has worked in conjunction with numerous French and international actors to support the French Cooperation in developing strategies and supervising actions on land issues.