Historical Changes of Land Tenure and Land Use Rights in a Local Community: A Case Study in Lao PDR
Land-titling programs, land and forest allocation programs, and projects on state-allocated land for development and investment in Laos have been key drivers of change in land tenure. These have triggered major shifts in land use rights, from customary, to temporary, and then to permanent land use r...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2016-04-01
|
| Series: | Land |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/5/2/11 |
| _version_ | 1811196764907110400 |
|---|---|
| author | Saykham Boutthavong Kimihiko Hyakumura Makoto Ehara Takahiro Fujiwara |
| author_facet | Saykham Boutthavong Kimihiko Hyakumura Makoto Ehara Takahiro Fujiwara |
| author_sort | Saykham Boutthavong |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Land-titling programs, land and forest allocation programs, and projects on state-allocated land for development and investment in Laos have been key drivers of change in land tenure. These have triggered major shifts in land use rights, from customary, to temporary, and then to permanent land use rights. This article explores how government programs to grant land use rights to individual households have affected the way people have been able to acquire and secure land tenure. For our case study, we selected the village of Napo, the target of many land tenure changes in the past four decades. We collected data from district offices, group discussions with village organizations, and interviews with selected households. The study shows how land use rights shifted over time and reveals that households obtained most of their agricultural land and forestland through a claim process. Original households were mainly land claimers, while migrants were land buyers. The process of formalization and allocation of tenure triggered inequality among households. Attention is needed in future land governance and tenure reforms in order to safeguard the land use rights of local people in an equitable manner. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T01:04:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-65f9cb7e95c045d482d42c0d07c5f090 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T01:04:30Z |
| publishDate | 2016-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-65f9cb7e95c045d482d42c0d07c5f0902022-12-22T03:54:18ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2016-04-01521110.3390/land5020011land5020011Historical Changes of Land Tenure and Land Use Rights in a Local Community: A Case Study in Lao PDRSaykham Boutthavong0Kimihiko Hyakumura1Makoto Ehara2Takahiro Fujiwara3Graduate School of Social and Culture Studies, Kyushu University, 744, Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka City 819-0395, JapanInstitute of Tropical Agriculture, Kyushu University, 6-10-1 Hakozaki, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka City 812-8581, JapanCenter for International Partnerships and Research on Climate Change, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute (FFPRI), 1 Matsunosato, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8687, JapanInstitute of Decision Science for a Sustainable Society, Kyushu University, 744, Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka City 819-0395, JapanLand-titling programs, land and forest allocation programs, and projects on state-allocated land for development and investment in Laos have been key drivers of change in land tenure. These have triggered major shifts in land use rights, from customary, to temporary, and then to permanent land use rights. This article explores how government programs to grant land use rights to individual households have affected the way people have been able to acquire and secure land tenure. For our case study, we selected the village of Napo, the target of many land tenure changes in the past four decades. We collected data from district offices, group discussions with village organizations, and interviews with selected households. The study shows how land use rights shifted over time and reveals that households obtained most of their agricultural land and forestland through a claim process. Original households were mainly land claimers, while migrants were land buyers. The process of formalization and allocation of tenure triggered inequality among households. Attention is needed in future land governance and tenure reforms in order to safeguard the land use rights of local people in an equitable manner.http://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/5/2/11land use rightsland tenureproperty rightsland acquisitionhousehold landland formalizationLaos |
| spellingShingle | Saykham Boutthavong Kimihiko Hyakumura Makoto Ehara Takahiro Fujiwara Historical Changes of Land Tenure and Land Use Rights in a Local Community: A Case Study in Lao PDR Land land use rights land tenure property rights land acquisition household land land formalization Laos |
| title | Historical Changes of Land Tenure and Land Use Rights in a Local Community: A Case Study in Lao PDR |
| title_full | Historical Changes of Land Tenure and Land Use Rights in a Local Community: A Case Study in Lao PDR |
| title_fullStr | Historical Changes of Land Tenure and Land Use Rights in a Local Community: A Case Study in Lao PDR |
| title_full_unstemmed | Historical Changes of Land Tenure and Land Use Rights in a Local Community: A Case Study in Lao PDR |
| title_short | Historical Changes of Land Tenure and Land Use Rights in a Local Community: A Case Study in Lao PDR |
| title_sort | historical changes of land tenure and land use rights in a local community a case study in lao pdr |
| topic | land use rights land tenure property rights land acquisition household land land formalization Laos |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/5/2/11 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT saykhamboutthavong historicalchangesoflandtenureandlanduserightsinalocalcommunityacasestudyinlaopdr AT kimihikohyakumura historicalchangesoflandtenureandlanduserightsinalocalcommunityacasestudyinlaopdr AT makotoehara historicalchangesoflandtenureandlanduserightsinalocalcommunityacasestudyinlaopdr AT takahirofujiwara historicalchangesoflandtenureandlanduserightsinalocalcommunityacasestudyinlaopdr |