In 2010, the ILC Secretariat decided to update information contained in the 2004 publication, so as to have a new basis to work more closely with and through CEDAW at national level. The update gives more visibility to the CEDAW Committee’s Concluding Observations and, accordingly, also to the CSOs’ shadow reports feeding them. This inclusion offers a more critical and comprehensive, if preliminary, overview of the situation of rural women in selected countries. NOTE: The 2004 publication is also available through this site.

In Cambodia, an increasing demand for land has accompanied rapid economic expansion over the past decade, leading to land tenure insecurity for many of the country's poor. Despite the adoption of a new land law in 2001 and the establishment of the Land Management and Administration Project (LMAP) in 2002, tenure problems have continued. The difficulties with land reform policy relate partly to LMAP's design problems and partly to poor execution.

In Vietnam, forest devolution policies were implemented in the early 1990’s under which the government transferred management power over large areas of forested land previously controlled by the state forest enterprises or local authorities to local households. The government believes that implementing devolution policies would improve local livelihoods for the upland poor and stabilize forest conditions to increase forest cover.

Burma is situated in Southeastern Asia, bordering Bangladesh, India, China, Laos and Thailand. The majority of its population lives in rural areas and depends on land as a primary means of livelihood. Because all land in Burma ultimately belongs to the state, citizens and organizations depend upon use-rights, but do not own land. Burma’s laws grant women equal rights in some respects and also recognize certain customary laws that provide women equal rights in relation to land.

Access to land for smallholder farmers is a critical foundation for food security in Myanmar's uplands. Land tenure guarantees seem to be eroding and access to land becoming more difficult in some upland areas. If this trend continues it may have negative impacts for food security and undermine environmental and economic sustainability. This briefing paper explores the relationship between land tenure and food security, as well as key institutional and other factors that influence land access and tenure for smallholder farmers in the uplands today.

This paper examines the institutional changes in Vietnam's urban development that have emerged as the economy has been restructured in a deliberate national policy entitled Doi Moi. The main focus is on the issue of compensation in land acquisition. Data were collected from field reconnaissance surveys, key informant interviews and secondary sources. Findings revealed a clear move towards the establishment of private property rights on land use, illustrated by the changes associated with land law and the dynamic interplays among the main actors in this transition.

The research team set out to answer three research questions: 1) What are rubber investment’s key features with regard to the investment process, investor identity, location, activities and scale? 2) How was the “upland” landscape originally zoned and mapped as part of the LFA process, and later re-zoned and mapped by local authorities and foreign investors? 3) What are the impacts of rubber investment in upland areas on the land use and livelihoods of the villagers involved?

The Outlook is a diagnostic tool that provides a comprehensive overview of local development trends in Cambodia. It also discusses policy and governance reforms aimed at reducing disparities and exploiting the enormous potential of Cambodian territories. The report will be of interest to policy makers, Development Partners, researchers, NGOs and others interested in the dynamics of Cambodia’s economic and policy development.

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.

This is a mixed methods study on the Cambodian Cadastral Commission (CC), a body set up in June 2002 to resolve disputes involving unregistered land. It was conducted by the Center for Advanced Study in collaboration with the World Bank Justice for the Poor Program, National Cadastral Commission Secretariat and the German Development Cooperation (GTZ). The study undertakes a review of the functioning of the CC and evaluates a new case management/incentive scheme which was being piloted with the support of GTZ.

Land fragmentation, where a single farm has a number of parcels of land, is a common feature of agriculture in many countries, especially in developing countries. In Vietnam, land fragmentation is common, especially in the north. For the whole country, there are about 75 million parcels of land, an average of seven to eight plots per farm household. Such fragmentation can be seen to have negative and positive benefits for farm households and the community generally.

Vietnam Land Administration system has implemented successfully the land policy in recent decades. In the next phase of socio-economic development plan, land is requested to become important domestic resources for many investment projects. Obviously, land registration needs further development so that land use rights or land use right certificate can be used as asset in the open market. In the past ten years, many improved on land registration was undertaken. Many first-look problems have been identified and fixed. The issues of Vietnam land registration are more difficult to identify.