Cambodia - Land Management and Administration Project : environmental and social management plan (Vol. 1 of 2) : Environmental assessment

E496 November 2001 Cambodia: Land Management and Administration Project ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT Environmental Conditions of Cambodia The Cambodian landscape features the floodplain of the Mekong River and the associated basin of the Ton16 Sap draining to the Mekong delta in the southeast, the Cardamon and Dangrek mountains to the southwest and northwest, and the plateaus bordering Laos and Vietnam in the northeast. A narrow coastal belt lies beyond the Cardamon Mountains. Over 75 percent of the population lives in the Mekong basin and Tonl6 Sap plain, which encompass a large diversity of agroecological conditions. Farming systems (mostly rice- based), and environmental conditions, are thus very location specific. Cambodian soils tend to be of low fertility, with low pH and deficiencies in nitrogen, phosphorus and micronutrients. Productivity is maintained in many areas by the deposition of silt by annual floods. In the highlands, farmers cultivate fields with rotational systems. The project will be active in the central provinces where the majority of the people live. The climate is monsoonal, with the major wet season occurring from May to November. The onset, intensity and duration of the rains varies markedly from year to year. Some 80 percent of the rice crop is rainfed, and the unreliability in the timing and quantity of water availability results in a high variations in rice output from year to year. Only 17 percent of the rice-growing areas are currently under any form of water management, and use of fertilizers and pest control technologies is as yet limited. Farmers are rapidly adopting agricultural machinery, including walking tractors, water pumps, and threshing machines. Close to 2 million of Cambodia's 11.4 million people live in urban areas, and the numbers are growing. Lack of access to clean water and sanitation facilities contributes to Cambodia's high rate of infant mortality, much of it caused by preventable diarrheal diseases. During the 30 years of civil unrest little investment was made in Cambodia's infrastructure. However, during the past five years much new investment has been made urban transport, water supply and other infrastructure, particularly in Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville and Siem Reap. Investments in water supply facilities have been made in some provincial towns. Estimates of Cambodia's forest cover range between 35 and 62 percent of total land area, including evergreen lowland and montane, semi-evergreen, deciduous and hydrophytic (flooded) forests. Deforestation is occurring at a alarming rates in Cambodia, due to poorly controlled commercial logging, clearing of land for agriculture, and cutting of timber for firewood. The forests provide habitat to a many large animals, including wild cats, primates, bears, elephants, wild cattle, pangolins and some 720 bird species. Loss habitat and uncontrolled hunting is decimating many of these animal species. Deforestation is also contributing to flood disasters, and likely to changes in local rainfall patterns. Cambodia has 23 protected areas, covering 18 percent of the country. Their boundaries are poorly demarcated, however, and encroachment and illegal hunting, timber cutting and other activities is widespread.  -2- About 4 million people in six provinces, or 40 percent of Cambodians depend on the Tonl6 Sap lake and its flood plain for their livelihoods. The lake is one of the richest inland fisheries in the world, and provides about 60 percent of the country's fish protein intake. The lake's area expands seasonally from about 300,000 hectares in the dry season to about 1,300,000 hectares at full flood in the rainy season, with a change in water levels of up to 15 meters. The seasonally inundated area supports a hydrophytic forest, which is a critical habitat for spawning and nursery of many of the lake's abundant fish. Large areas of the flooded forest (up to 400,000 hectares from the 1960s to the 1990s) have been and continue to be cleared for firewood and for agricultural plots. There is an increase in the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in the Tonl6 Sap floodplain, posing risks of eutrophication of the lake and accumulation of toxic chemicals in the fishery. Managing the environment of the Tonl6 Sap region is complex because of the massive annual fluxes in the hydrology, the dependence of the fishery on critical habitat in the flood forest inundation zone, the multiple uses land especially in the inundation zone, and number of jurisdictions involved, stretching across six provinces, and involving numerous government agencies at all levels. Impacts of the project on the environment Among other goals, the project seeks to improve natural resources management by supporting development of policies, regulations and procedures for land classification, generation of information needed to classify land (including procurement of aerial photos and satellite images), and production of land classification maps showing boundaries of land designated for particular uses and under the control of various government entities. Reaching a clear understanding of how various tracts of land will be managed in the future is a precondition for effective land-use planning and management of natural resources. This activity is also essential for effective implementation of the country's new forestry, fisheries, and water laws, which are now being drafted to deal with specific categories of state property. In this way the project is expected to directly contribute to improved environmental management in Cambodia. Indirectly, by stimulating new investment in industries, agriculture, urban housing and offices, and, the project has potential to affect the environment both positively and negatively. On the positive side, by improving incentives to manage resources for long- term benefit, the project may encourage farmers to invest in soil conservation, and firms and communities to manage forests and fisheries sustainably. By formalizing rights to residential plots, the project encourages investment in activities and infrastructure that improve environmental conditions where people live and work, such as solid waste management, water supply systems, and sanitation facilities. On the negative side, without proper management, new investment in industry and other facilities can harm the environment. To minimize or mitigate the potential impacts will require strengthening the environmental law and its subdecrees, including that on environmental impact assessment. It will also necessitate the building of capacity of the ministry of environment (MoE) to enable it to better enforce laws and regulations on environmental protection and natural resources management. * -3- New investment that occurs due to titling will occur outside the scope of the project, and no specific measures have been designed to deal with the potential impacts under project financing. Many multilateral and bilateral donors and NGOs are working with the government to improve its capacity for environmental and natural resources management, including the European Union, the United Nations Development Program/Global Environment Facility, the World Wild Fund for Nature, Wildlife Conservation Society, and Conservation International and others. The Asian Development Bank has provided technical assistance and training to the MoE to strengthen its capacity to review and evaluate environmental impact assessment reports. The United States Agency for International Development is now supporting a project focused on strengthening capacity of the MoE, which will start in September 2001 [date and specific activities to be verified]. Danish International Development Assistance (DANIDA) is helping six government agencies, including the MLMUPC, to integrate environmental concerns into its policies, strategies and operations. It is also helping build capacity of the Council for Development of Cambodia, which is responsible for screening all private and public projects that, according to subdecree, require an environmental impact assessment. The World Bank is helping build capacity of the department of forestry and wildlife (ministry of agriculture, forestry and fisheries or MAFF) to better manage forests through a learning and innovation loan. Environmental management plan The project has been designed to promote sound environmental management and mitigate potentially negative affects arising directly from project activities. Classification of land and delimitation of boundaries. Under its land management component, the project will support the classification of land and the delimitation of boundaries of land of different classifications. As making these decisions will not always be smooth, it is expected that the process will involve full participation of all stakeholders, including relevant government agencies, central, provincial and local government bodies, and families settled in the area. Sequencing of systematic titling activities. The project will not provide titles in areas of potential significance for environmental management until after decisions have been made with regard to its status and boundaries agreed. Such areas include remaining forests, protected areas, the drainage area of Tonl6 Sap and the lake itself, the coastal zone, riverbanks and others. Environmental input into land policy formulation. Wherever appropriate, the land policies and regulations being developed under the project will include environmental input. For example, the policy on the delimitation and administration of public land must be based on a good analysis of the environmental implications of classifying the land in particular ways. Indeed a major principle for retaining land in the hands of the state is that it provides a public benefit in the form of improved environmental management. Other policy areas supported by the project that require environmental input include 4 -4- registering land in and around conservation areas (forests, protected areas, fisheries, and water resources), registering community and indigenous peoples' land rights, and allocating and developing land for the landless poor. Creation of capacity for land management. The project will create capacity for improved environmental management in several ways. It will establish a university degree course in surveying, land management, and land administration. It will also help strengthen capacity of the General Department of Land Management in the MLMUPC and of the provincial and district offices of land management. The project will also link to programs of other donors supporting land use planning. Representation of environmental groups in project activities. The MoE is a member of the Council of Land Policy that is responsible for formulating land policies and regulations. The three ministries managing natural resources (MAFF, ministry of industry, mines and energy; and ministry of water resources and meteorology) are also members. The NGO Forum, which includes representatives of NGOs with an interest in sustainable forest management, biodiversity conservation, protection of coastal waters, and other land use issues, will be consulted regularly throughout project implementation. Advice will also be sought from multilateral and bilateral donors working in the area of environmental management. Environmental monitoring and evaluation. Most of the positive environmental impacts of the project will result from classifying land and delimiting the boundaries of land to be set aside for conservation purposes, and developing policies that reflect concerns for improved environmental management. The key output indicators include number of areas delimited and their total size, and number of policies developed with environmental input. It is not expected that outcomes, such as evidence of improved environmental management will be measurable during the project lifetime, as the delimitation process is not expected to be completed until project year three or four. It is expected that the project's environmental impacts will ultimately be measurable through monitoring of environmental indicators planned by DANIDA (National Capacity Development Project) as input to the state of the environment report that will be produced regularly, and through research and qualitative monitoring of assumptions and trends that the Cambodian Development Research Institute (CDRI) is carrying out with support from DANIDA. Compliance with World Bank Safeguard Policies Environmental assessment (OP 4.01). The project is classified as category B because it is not expected to have significant adverse environmental impacts. Other than construction of office space and related facilities, the project will not support civil works, land conversion, resource extraction, industrial production or any activity that could potentially damage the environment. Contracts for civil works under the project will be subject to screening for environmental impacts by the Council for Development of Cambodia, which is responsible for this activity. All policy and institutional development activities (about 50 percent the total project cost) are environmental A i a -5- assessment category C. They are not subject to special environmental review requirements. Natural habitats (OP 4.04). The project will support the delimitation of important natural habitats, including forests, protected areas, fisheries, and water resources. It will also support development of capacity to create land management plans. The project will also avoid titling in areas of potential environmental significance until the boundaries of different categories of land are agreed. Cultural property (OPN 11.03). Cambodia has sites of great cultural significance, not all of which are currently known. The project will not issue titles to lands that the government deems as high priority for further study. It is expected that under the project, the boundaries of these areas will be delimited and title vested with the government. Pest management (OP 4.09). This policy does not apply to the project. While farmers may increase their use of pesticides while intensifying cultivation, the increase is not expected to be significant. In should be noted that DANIDA has been supporting integrated pest management in Cambodia since 2000. The World Bank under the Agricultural Productivity Improvement Project, and the Food and Agriculture Organization are also training farmers in the use of integrated pest management practices. Involuntary Resettlement (OD4.30). The policy does not apply to the project. The project will provide for the rehabilitation and new construction of project office space and related facilities. It was agreed that the construction of new offices will be financed only over vacant public land. kc N:\Wael Zakout\Cambodia\Environmental Conditions of Cambodia.doc November 1, 2001 10:42 AM  Cambodia: Land Management and Administration Project SOCIAL ASPECTS Social Assessment A social assessment (SA) was undertaken as a prelude to project design. It began on March 1, 2001 and the final analysis was presented at a stakeholder workshop on July 9, 2001 sponsored by the Ministry of Land Management Urban Planning and Construction and Cambodia Research Development Institute. As in the stakeholder workshop prior to the start of the SA, the July 9 workshop was attended by the Governors and/or their representatives and the Directors of the land departments from the 24 Provinces. The SA findings were used by the Project Preparation Team in the design of the Project, especially in the area of participation, information dissemination and education on land rights, in the area of land dispute resolutions and in the area of future policy studies and implementation guidelines. SA Findings. Cambodia privatized lands in 1989 and it is widely believed that at that time there was a fair distribution of both agricultural and residential lands. All those whose main occupation was agriculture received land according to household size. However, for want of adequate financial and human resources a complete mapping and firm titling of land could not take place at that time. People therefore continued to rely on local traditions and customs to govern land rights according to the productive use of land. In the last decade, there have been significant socio-economic changes (e.g. refugee repatriation, the advent of markets and urbanization, increased population growth) that have placed varied demands on land. As a result, the composition of stakeholders in lands has emerged rather unevenly. Following the law of the market, maximum demands have been placed on best-located lands: commercial lands, roadside lands, productive lands, urban lands, and the like. People who have not been able to adapt to such changes - for whatever reason - have not benefited from this process, and in many cases have actually been adversely affected. These people include the most vulnerable segments of the population (e.g. the rural poor, women heads of households). In this sense, there are at least five major problems that require attention: (1) inequality in land holdings, (2) landlessness, (3) insecure tenancy, (4) land conflicts, and (5) encroachment on urban lands by squatters. Land use patterns have changed dramatically, particularly in locales characterized by high commercialization. The demand for land has also increased among the peasantry because of accelerated land atomization and restrictions placed on their access to forest and fishing resources. Such shifts in land use patterns have also been accompanied by a corresponding shift in people's perceptions of land rights. A dual system of ownership and control is now rapidly emerging as more and more land is acquired by people and institutions from outside the local community for purposes other than subsistence farming. Land use rights are recognized locally by people within the peasant community according to traditions and customs, while ownership rights are recognized by people from outside the community according to the formal law and procedures laid-down by the state. This dualism is not harmonious because there is a frequent interface between the two systems in which more powerful parties are able to take advantage of those who are more vulnerable. In this sense, people routinely seek venues and employ procedures that promote their own self-interests. & Land markets are most active in areas situated along roads and near urban or market centers. In such areas, the demand for formal land claims, i.e. titling deeds, is the highest in terms of facilitating transfers, clarifying land boundaries, and avoiding disputes with would-be claimants. However, due to the high costs of land titles - mainly in the form of informal payments - many land transactions are routinely facilitated at the lower levels of administration through an exchange of application receipts or written contracts between buyers and sellers, which are not necessarily tenable in law. In this sense, only people with adequate financial resources and/or political access are able and willing to obtain proper land certificates. In areas characterized by subsistence farming systems away from roads and urban/market centers, people either rely on receipts or informal social institutions for validating use rights to certain areas of land, but here too the demand for written documentation is increasing because people wish to ensure a smooth the process of succession and transfer of land to their off-spring. A complex hierarchy of government officials and elected representatives govern land in a highly centralized set up. An application for making certificates goes through at least 8-10 offices, spread across the village, commune, district, province and the national capital. Inquiries and measurements take enormous time, a process also lengthened for want of proper human and physical) resources. For one, most rural people, farmers and non-farmers alike, are not versed with this governance system. They would prefer to avoid the system in favor of local traditions and customs, and at best deal only with local institutions. Next, the duality of systems of land control not only co-exist, actors within the government itself, particularly at the lower levels (e.g. village and commune chiefs) are party to perpetuating this dualism. Different stakeholders understand land titles differently, to the extent that the guardians of the law themselves, the courts and dispute settlement mechanisms, do not have a clear and consistent understanding of the law and rules. The defacto sanction extended to different practices of governance of land has ensured that the actual law is never really implemented. The ambiguity in rules and multiplicity of practices in land transactions has also contributed to increasing corruption, which is exacerbated by the unrealistic remuneration structure provided to government staff. In many areas, a proper certificate may cost up to US$300-400, almost all in the form of informal payments to officials and representatives spread across different departments. Predictably, the poor rarely, if ever, obtain the right papers because they have neither the support of the law nor do they have the resources to by-pass the law. Women are especially vulnerable in this regard since they tend to have less access to and control over resources which to advocate for their own rights. The frequency and nature of land disputes is also increasing as more diverse interests compete for land resources. More land disputes now involve village people and people from outside the local peasant community, including private companies and state institutions, and increasingly require more formal institutions for resolution. Any new land tilting effort will generate more demand for dispute resolution, involving both formal and informal governance mechanisms at all levels. Such an increase would, in all likelihood, overwhelm a system that is already falling behind on its caseload. The most significant constraints in terms of the capacity to handle an increased volume of cases are related to inadequate financial and human resources, including technical training in the law and procedures. 4 The key findings and recommendations from the SA are listed in a matrix in Attachment 1. The full social assessment is available in project files. Participation and Community Preparation in Systematic Registration During Project Implementation. Based on the findings of the SA, observations from the field trip and discussions with non-governmental groups who are very supportive of the proposed project and eager to participate, the mission recommends that local NGOs be contracted to undertake the work prior to the adjudication process. They will be responsible for field work prior to the commencement of systematic adjudication. Their activities will include information dissemination, targeting women for education on land laws and titling procedures, conducting village baseline profiles, entering field data into the registration database, analyzing registration records, producing consolidated village land files, providing post registration training in derivative registration and follow local land use planning support and for evaluation and monitoring. After loan effectiveness, local NGOs will be invited to send expression of interest and later submit proposals of how they plan to undertake the work in the provinces. The selected NGOs will be provided orientation and training by the Project including gender specific methods and tools for participation. They will consult and prepare communities prior to the adjudication work. Communities which they think are ready can be visited by the adjudication team. Communities which need more time for preparation can be visited by the adjudication team at a later time. This partnership with NGOs will facilitate the work of MLMUPC and help to solve the problem of lack of human resources in the provinces. Following Completion of the Project. It has been mentioned in the SA and recognized in other land administration and management projects that providing a title by itself does not necessarily lead to immediate improvement in social welfare and economic livelihood for the households. For rural households, in addition to security of tenure, people need support of extension services, credit, access to markets and other social services. The Project will link titled communities with non-government groups working in the area for further support services which these groups provide. NGOs have informed the mission that they prefer to work with people who have secured land tenure because these people will be more willing to invest time and resources into their land. Social Safeguards Indigenous Minorities. The project area, comprising ten provinces and the municipality of Phnom Penh for the first phase of the long-term program, has been proposed by the MLMUPC based on agreed criteria. These areas do not include provinces in the northeast where the indigenous minorities live. According to the available information, there are small numbers of indigenous minorities in two of the ten project provinces-Kampong Thom and Sihanouk Ville. In Cambodia indigenous people are variously referred to 'Khmer Loeu' (upper Khmer), 'highland peoples' or 'hill tribes.' These groups make up a large part of the population in the northeast region; in the provinces Ratanakiri (62,000 or 66% of the total population, according to t the 1995 census), Mondolkiri (23,000 or 71%), Stung Treng (5,000 or 6.6%) and Kratie (21,000 or 8.3%). Estimated figures set the total population of indigenous minorities to approximately 120,000, or about one percent of the total population in Cambodia; they comprise of approximately thirteen main language groups. While the first project will not undertake individual titling in areas inhabited by indigenous minorities, an Indigenous Minority Policy Framework has been prepared to guide the preparatory work for the second project in this long term program of land management and administration. Where opportunities and demand emerge for communal titling, the Project will coordinate with the relevant government ministries to consider selective requests. In order to anticipate the inclusion of the northeast area for the second project of the program, a review and drafting of implementation guidelines for the registration of communal and indigenous minorities land rights will be undertaken during the first pproject. The Executive of the Royal Government of Cambodia has passed the new Land Law on August 30th 2001 that provides for the recognition of inalienable communal land rights of "ethnic minority communities" over residential areas and traditional cultivation lands within forests. Additional policy work and further elaboration of the legal framework will be required before the government will be able to implement this section of the proposed new land law. The proposed review and implementation guidelines for land titling for indigenous minorities will take as its basis the policy contained within the draft land law 2001 and lessons learned from on-going projects for indigenous communities in the northeast area. Resettlement. The project's objective of establishing land titles and improving service delivery of land administration functions would result in a significant reduction of disputes over land rights. The titles would provide all people with secure tenure and protect them from being displaced. In the long term, this would have a positive social and economic impact. A Resettlement Policy Framework has been prepared for the Project. It provides the principles and procedures to be followed to compensate people who may be negatively affected by the Project so as to ensure that they will be assisted to improve, or at least restore their living standards, income and/or production capacity to pre-project levels. While no resettlement or land acquisition is anticipated under the land titling components, the Project has developed the policy framework to protect people who may be negatively impacted from three possible sources. These are: 1) land required for the rehabilitation and/or construction of project office buildings, training facilities and a building for a land management institute in the national capital and in the provincial capital of project locations; 2) potential eviction of people from land of which title is wanted by issued in the name of the state the government under the Project; and 3) right of way claim by the State in land inhabited by villagers before any ROW regulations were issued. Informal Settlers. Agreement has been reached with the Ministry (MLMUPC) regarding the approach to be used in the case of informal settlers including squatters. The project (a) will issue titles where there is agreement by the government to provide the land to be registered to informal settlers, (b) will facilitate the provision of services and titling where the municipality is working with development groups to provide land to informal settlers through land sharing and/or # 5 relocation programs based on the UNCHS principles, and (c) will not issue titles where there is no agreement to allocate the land to informal settlers or through land sharing and/or relocation programs. The project has developed procedures for screening and consultation to ensure that the above conditions are agreed before provision of land registration and titling services. Dispute Resolution and Legal Aid. The precise number of land disputes in Cambodia is not known, but it is widely recognized that disputes about land are endemic. While the Bank's Operational Directive 4.30 does not apply to impacts of adjudication on disputes between private parties, the proposed initiative to provide legal aid will assist the poor and disadvantaged in obtaining fair resolution of those disputes. The Project will have a component to strengthen the capacity of administrative institutions at all levels and civil society to work together to resolve land disputes. In addition, the Project will partner with the Cambodian Legal Aid group to provide legal assistance to the poor in cases of disputes at the Land Dispute Resolution Commissions and the courts. Informal Settlement Program The mission had discussions with donors and NGOs implementing the Urban Poverty Reduction Project (funded by UNCHS/UNDP/UK DFID Project CMB/00/003). There was agreement that the Project will coordinate closely with the development groups in the informal settlement program. A 1999 Survey of Poor Settlements found that approximately 172,000 people in Phnom Penh live in squatter settlements. Today it may be over 200,000 people. The Municipality of Phnom Penh, with technical and financial assistance from UNCHS/UNDP and DFID (British Aid), has been actively engaged in the informal settlement program (spanning several years and formally based on internationally endorsed principles UN (1998) Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement; UN (1996) Report Of The United Nations Conference On Human Settlements (Habitat II), Istanbul, 3-14 June.) relocating squatters from river bank sites along the Bassac and Tonl6 Sap Rivers to developed, alternative sites in the peni-urban areas. The program is based on the UNCHS principles for shelter-i.e., a) provide security of tenure; b) promote the right to adequate housing; c) provide equal access to land; d) promote equal access to credit; and e) promote access to basic services and guidelines. UNCHS has developed several approaches for the program. Among the various approaches are two which are briefly described below. Land-sharing Approach. Informal settlers remain in the area where they have been living but their living space is reorganized so that they can share the land with new owners; new housing is built either as apartments or row houses. For example, land sharing of 111 families with a hospital in Phnom Penh will take 2.5 percent of land area allowing the hospital to use 97.5 percent of the land. Relocation Approach. Informal settlers move to a new location where the area is prepared and basic infrastructure installed; each family gets a residential plot including a small yard, a house and water supply and sanitation facilities including septic tank. Below are the implementation steps for sub-projects undertaken by a coalition of NGOs under the UNCHS program: & 4 Activities Responsible (based on a 12 month period for Steps 1 to 7 per (Community and Partners) location) 1 Consultation and planning with community about Municipality, ACHRfUPDF, SUPF and URC the program. 2. Community preparation including community SUPF and UPDF survey of land and housing opportunities (6 months). 3. Provision of land. Municipality 4. Community mapping, design and planning URC assistance. 5. Infrastructure installation using paid community Construction by contractor supervised by URC labor (3 to 6 months) 6. Housing construction with small loan to House foundation and posts by contractor; the households rest by household supervised by URC; loan managed by UPDC 7. Households move into new homes and continue to work on the finishing touches. 8. Households develop livelihood activities. SUPF and UPDF 9. Monitoring Municipality and UPDF 1 Households get land title LMAP canfacilitate the registration and 0 securing of titles The responsible groups include non-government organizations who are currently working with squatters and the urban poor and who have collaborated with MNCHS. ACHR is Asian Coalition for Housing Rights; UPDF is Urban Poor Development Fund specializing in micro-credit; SUP is Solidarity and the Urban Poor Federation specializing in commnunity organizing; and URC is Urban Resource Center specializing in architectural and urban planning services. The estimated costs per family (excluding land) under the informal settlement program are approximately: US$900 to US$1,200 per family for land-sharing US$1,800 to US$2,200 per family for relocation.  ATTACHMENT 1 Principal findings emerging from social assessment of land in Cambodia July 2001 Key Issues Recommendations Remarks I Land use pattern has changed Conduct detailed surveys and Administrative dramatically due to socio- surveillance; implement decentralisation needed; economic changes in the last development schemes funds required; personnel decade: this is in response to capacities to be raised; this is increasing demands on land also a larger developmental from outside the local peasantry issue 2 Change in land use pattern is Encourage modernisation: Synchronisation of elements followed by changing views on promote public education and of SEDP with the titling land rights: those who cannot effective outreach programme; special focus on adapt to such changes are the poor and vulnerable adversely affected 3 There is extensive land transaction Have the new law on land to Respect for each level of and inheritance using informal address these issues and create administration in means: all not correct in law institutions that speedily dispense implementing the law such cases 4 Land receipts and unauthenticated Strengthen enforcement Public education and training written contracts are used for land mechanisms; decentralise can help transfers/divisions, and are even governance recognised by courts and LDSC 5 People incorrectly believe receipts Encourage modernisation: promote Public education can help; to be land certificates public education with effective this is a larger developmental outreach issue 6 Many application receipts are out- All new procedures should honour Administrative dated and do not present the the present occupancy if there is no decentralisation necessary current reality conflict or contest 7 Today stakeholders include Promote integration of different Civil society can help farmers, migrants, soldiers, stakeholders; judiciously up-hold companies, government officials the law to protect the vulnerable and military among others: a very heterogeneous group having conflicting interests 8 Many stakeholders possess lands Strengthen enforcement Cadastral maps and by means not valid in law (e.g. mechanisms; decentralise measurements necessary grabbing, encroaching, squatting) governance; create institutions that speedily dispense such cases 9 Many people hold unused lands Strengthen enforcement Promote good governance mechanisms; decentralise governance 10 There is high demand and Develop land and infrastructure in Integrate elements of land speculation for lands along roads, the hinterland; rely on market development in SEDP; more commercial centres, and water mechanisms hands may be needed ways II Military controls some key Rationalise and minimise military Relates to larger disputed lands; also other or government control of 'private administrative reforms  government departments hold state lands' 'private state lands' 12 Landlessness and urban squatters Evolve a relocation and habitation Relates to larger are visibly large policy administrative reforms 13 Phnom Penh is expanding rapidly City needs zoning and expansion Some strong decisions are in an unplanned way plans necessary 14 Women-headed households own * Promote right to obtain knowledge Requires larger awareness on smaller land pieces than men do. and participation in titling and gender equity Women-headed households are conflict resolution also more vulnerable to become * Create public awareness on gender landless 15 Women have little knowledge of * Promote right to obtain knowledge Requires larger awareness on land laws and titling procedures and participation in titling and gender equity conflict resolution * Create public awareness on gender 16 There are problems with land Accelerate agricultural Relates to larger control by swidden farmers - development; make interim developmental issues; mainly indigenous people arrangement for transition for affirmative action swidden farmers 17 Absence of land/cadastral maps Give top priority for developing Funds required; capacities to makes it difficult to properly maps, surveys and measurements; be raised define land use and control promote inter-ministerial co- ordination 18 Land concessions are given out Rationalise lands under concession; Requires a comprehensive without adequate consultation; re-examine some concessions agricultural policy; respect they adversely affect the villagers' authority of local officials livelihoods and representatives 19 There is lack of clarity regarding Develop a comprehensive policy; Requires a comprehensive control/u1se of water bodies create maps and surveys water & fishery policy; some steps already taken 20 Land administration procedures Judicious application of the law and Promote good governance not adequately followed: there is procedures adoption of short-cuts and unofficial dealings 21 Inability to tax unused lands Judicious application of the law and Promote good governance results in revenue losses procedures 22 Land titling process is Simplify procedures - may be Need to lay out new complicated, time-consuming, and through decentralisation; make administrative procedures, expensive: people with resources affordability as one of the guiding training, capacity building can obtain certificates, but the principles; observe best practices; poor cannot afford them progressive taxation 23 Both, people and local officials Promote public education on land complain about the repeated laws and procedures changes in procedures and forms of certificates 24 Capacity of titling institutions is Conduct training; provide Additional funding may be limited due to lacking of human- equipment and make provisions for necessary power, training, materials and funds through progressive taxation, equipment, and fund inter-governmental transfers 25 People/officials lack the Conduct training; provide Additional funding may be knowledge about modem land equipment and make provisions for necessary governing systems and methods funds; public education 26 In effect there are two parallel Promote public education on land This is a larger administrative  practices governing land rights: laws and procedures; also conduct reforms issue informal and formal training for staff - all to minimise unofficial practices, particularly those not correct in law 27 There are land conflicts between Settle disputes on priority Need to legitimise and different stakeholders strengthen local conflict settlement institutions 28 Demand for formal conflict Make fuller use of local dispute Need to legitimise and resolution outstrips the supply settlement systems: make it strengthen local conflict mandatory to first refer matters to settlement institutions local authorities 29 Social impact of this short-supply Make fuller use of local dispute Need to legitimise and is felt most by the poor settlement systems; instil strengthen local conflict confidence among the poor settlement institutions 30 Boundary disputes, Should be settled in the Need to legitimise and inheritance/divorce village/commune strengthen local conflict settlement institutions 31 Encroachment on public land Adjudication at village/commune Cadastral maps and level necessary; demarcation of measurements necessary private and public lands prerequisite 32 Practice of coerced sales & land Judicious application of the law and Promote good govemance; grabbing procedures pro-poor policies 33 Communal claims specially in Accelerate agricultural Affirmative action; partner swidden areas development; make interim with NGOs; reach out to non- arrangement for transition for Khmer speaking populations swidden farmers; communal titling? 34 Repeated undermining of local Reverse the process: if necessary Need to legitimise and mechanisms of dispute settlement create new administrative fiats strengthen local conflict institutions by the 'powerful' settlement institutions 35 Some Land Dispute Settlement * Ensure neutrality of commission Relates to larger administrative Commissions (LDSC) are not members reform neutral; also many people * Layout clear procedures for surveyed do not perceive them to dispute settlement be fair 9 Build capacities among LDSC members 36 Provincial courts and LDSC a Promote local dispute settlement Need to legitinise and beyond the affordability of mechanisms as the first step of strengthen local conflict ordinary folk conflict resolution settlement institutions e Clarify the path for appeal a Make affordability the guiding principle to dispense justice 37 Courts & LDSC falling behind o Promote local dispute settlement Need to legitimise and case loads mechanisms as the first step of strengthen local conflict conflict resolution settlement institutions * Clarify the path of appeals 38 Courts & LDSC face problems of Conduct training; provide Funding maybe necessary inadequate financing, staffing & equipment and make provisions for training funds 39 The process and service of dispute o Make affordability the guiding Relates to larger administrative settlement are rather complicated principle to dispense justice reforms and expensive, and women heads p Create public awareness on gender 材口 are not able to afford them 40 Dispute settlement systems have Rationalise the relationship Relates to larger no 'teeth' to implement their between the judiciary and executive administrative reforms decisions 41 Unofficial fees increase potential Strengthen enforcement Promote good governance abuse of the system mechanisms; decentralise governance 42 There are a number of unsettled Evolve a relocation and habitation Relates to larger people - returnees, displaced policy; use unused lands; invoke administrative reforms persons, migrants, demobilised part-self financed schemes soldiers 43 There is no accurate count of Conduct general and issue- May need funding; inter- available lands and land use specific surveys; maintain same departmental co-ordination data base across departments and ministries ke N:\Wael Zakout\Cambod i a\Cambod ia-Soc i alAspec ts. doe November 1, 2001 10:50 AM