The report of a 2013 survey conducted to update previous research on urban poor settlements in the Phnom Penh and produce current maps of their locations. This report summarises the data collected, and provides analysis and recommendations for key stakeholders intended to help lead to positive outcomes for the urban poor. The study found 340 urban poor settlements in Phnom Penh. The research shows that the trend of a decreasing percentage of settlements in the inner Khans and a corresponding increase in outer Khan settlements has continued.

This paper describes the interventions undertaken in the Doe Mao Salong watershed in an effort to restore the landscape and improve the livelihoods of local communities. Interventions included forming multi-stakeholder platforms to facilitate dialogue and to ensure participatory land-use planning; the creation of tree nurseries for forest rehabilitation; identifying products for sale in local markets; and a focus on action learning. Land-tenure arrangements proved key to these interventions. The report describes the impacts.

In the context of transition to a more open form of government, the Myanmar government has begun to liberalize land markets and, in 2012, enacted two major land-related laws. Implementing these new land laws has proven challenging, however, as it has been difficult to integrate these laws with the existing customary practices of various ethnic minorities. To address these and other issues UN-HABITAT Myanmar is assisting the Myanmar government in developing a Land Administration and Management Program (LAMP).

អង្គការលីកាដូធ្វើការស៊ើបអង្កេតទៅលើគម្រោង ការបែងចែកដីធ្លី ដើម្បីអភិវឌ្ឍន៍សេដ្ឋកិច្ច និងសង្គម ( LASED ) ដែលមានតម្លៃ១៣លានដុល្លារ ដែលបានគាំទ្រដោយ ធនាគារពិភពលោក និងទីភ្នាក់ងារអភិវឌ្ឍន៍របស់អាឡឺម៉ង់ ជីអាយហ្សិត ( Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale
Zusammenarbeit ) ដើម្បីវាយតម្លៃថាតើ ប្រជាជនក្រីក្រកម្ពុជានៅតាមទីជនបទ ពិតជាដែលបានទទួលអត្ថប្រយោជន៍ពីគម្រោងនេះ ដូចដែលបានថ្លែងនៅក្នុងរបាយការណ៍គំរោងរបស់ទីភ្នាក់ងារទាំងពីរឬទេ។

Political dynamics of the global land grab are exemplified in Cambodia, where at least 27 forced evictions took place in 2009, affecting 23,000 people. Evictions of the rural poor are legitimized by the assumption that non-private land is idle, marginal, or degraded and available for capitalist exploitation. This paper: (1) questions the assumption that land is idle; (2) explores whether land grabs can be regulated through a ‘code of conduct’; and (3) examines peasant resistance to land grabs.

During 2012, a key choice facing developing countries revealed itself ever more starkly. Would they choose a development path built on inclusiveness, respect for the rights of their citizens, and the rule of law? Or would they seek a short-cut to development and opt to hand over community land and natural resources to international investors and national elites? Would they turn their rural citizens from landowners into landless laborers?

This report provides select findings of an extensive survey of relocation sites in and around Phnom Penh, conducted in 2011 and 2012. The aim of the report is to highlight some key issues facing residents at existing relocation sites, and provide recommendations for both improving existing sites and improving future relocation practices, in cases when relocation is considered unavoidable. The report follows a previous 2007 report ‘Relocation sites in Phnom Penh’.

This report is a review of city’s development paradigm, including an examination of urban services and infrastructure, the regulatory framework, mobility networks, major stakeholders, and key issues in the city's development. The authors argue that Phnom Penh stands at a crossroads. Ahead is the continuation of a “planned” development of the city first developed by the French and then adopted by the Sihanouk regime. To either side is the new “unplanned” approach, a path that already seems to be the favored choice.

This report compares independently-gathered household data from four communities located along railroad tracks in Phnom Penh to data gathered by the Inter-Ministerial Resettlement Committee (IRC) in charge of the resettlement of households along the railways. Based on comparative data from 70 households, the report finds significant and widespread anomalies in the data gathered by the IRC. In the majority of cases, data collected by STT shows households are eligible to receive higher rates of compensation than those proffered by the IRC.

ABSTRACTED FROM THE INTRODUCTION: This report shows how, contrary to Cambodia’s obligations under international human rights law, those affected by evictions have had no opportunity for genuine participation and consultation beforehand. Information on planned evictions and on resettlement packages has often been incomplete and inaccurate, undermining the right to information of those affected.

This study explores the reasons behind the government’s exclusion of many Phnom Penh urban poor communities (UPCs) from the Systematic Land Registration (SLR) process, and the impact of this on affected households, particularly women and children. The study was conducted in 12 UPCs that had been excluded from the SLR process in six khans where SLR had been completed or was well under way. Data collection methods included interviews with 60 households from excluded UPCs, as well as village chiefs, community representatives, government officials, and NGO members.

As shown in this report, harassment of local activists in Cambodia, including defenders of the right to housing, is widespread. Cambodia’s rich and powerful are increasingly abusing the criminal justice system to silence communities standing up against land concessions or business deals affecting the land they live on or cultivate. Many poor and marginalized communities are living in fear of the institutions created to protect them, in particular the police and the courts. As forced evictions increase, public space for discussing them is shrinking.