Mapping Indigenous Communal Lands : A Review of the Literature from a Cambodian Perspective

The Cambodian Land Law (2001) provides
indigenous ethnic minority groups with a right to register
their traditional residential and agricultural lands under
communal title. To date, however, this right has remained
unrealized. While the government has been working on a pilot
registration process in three villages and drafting
implementing regulations under the land law, Cambodia's
once remote highlands have become increasingly exposed to
the forces of state and market. The result: indigenous
communities are being transformed; livelihoods change; and
land is subject to deforestation, sales and grants of
government concessions for mining and agribusiness. The
Royal Government has included in its policy documents a
commitment to the 'interim protection' of
indigenous lands prior to registration; however, to progress
on this front has been limited. The review of the literature
contained in this note is adapted from a study examining the
potential of community mapping to serve as an interim
protective measure.