Lessons to Be Learned for Poverty Reduction

36884 Public Disclosure Authorized Volume 4, Number 5 May 2006 Helping the Poor with Access to Land rom March 27 to April 7, 2006, a joint LASED Project Director. It was accom- tion support to the Royal Government of Fmission by the World Bank and the panied by World Bank senior officers in- Cambodia. The project will support two Government of Germany through GTZ (Ger- cluding Nisha Agrawal, Country Man- outcomes: one is on providing land with man Technical Cooperation) reviewed ager, GTZ senior official Martin Orth, and tenure security and supporting services progress on the preparation of a proposed government inter-ministry officials. and investments to reduce poverty among Land Allocation for Social and Economic LASED is proposed as a six-year targeted landless and land-poor house- Development Project (LASED). The pro- project. Parallel to the funding from the holds; the other is supporting develop- posal is being prepared under the guidance World Bank, the Government of Germany ment of standard program features for fur- of the Council for Land Policy to support will provide specific technical coopera- See PROGRESS: on page 2 Public Disclosure Authorized the implementation of locally initiated social land concessions (SLCs). The mission’s objective was to assess and support progress towards the LASED project to meet the World Bank’s appraisal requirements and to plan technical assistance from the German Government. The mission worked closely with the National Project Preparation Team (NPPT) and its consultants, and mission activities in- cluded field visits to the provinces of Kratie and Kampong Cham, as well as discussions with villagers, commune officials, civil society groups and national, provincial and Public Disclosure Authorized district level officials. The team was led by Steven Schonberger, the World Bank’s Rural Sec- tor Coordinator; Dr. Franz-Volker Müller, World Bank and GTZ staff discuss distributing land to the poor with villagers at GTZ representative; and Sar Sovann, a wat in Chuom village in Kampong Cham province. Reseachers: Lessons to be learned for Poverty Reduction t least 550 students and lecturers from in the Development Research Group on nior Research Manager for the Develop- Aten universities in Phnom Penh at- “Does Rising Landlessness Signal Suc- ment Research Group on “Poverty Reduc- tended two separate addresses given by cess or Failure for Vietnam’s Agrarian tion in China”. Dominique Van De Walle, Lead Economist Transition?” and Martin Ravallion, Se- See RESEARCHERS: on page 4 Public Disclosure Authorized World Bank Country Manager Nisha Agrawal and Pannasastra University Dean Peng Ngoeun with Dominique Van De Walle, right, as she explains lessons learned from Vietnam on landlessness to students from several universities in Phnom Penh. 2 The World Bank Newsletter May 2006 Helping the Poor ... continued from page 1 Community ther expansion of the social land conces- representa- sion program. tives “In all communities, people have discuss asked for assistance in making land avail- issues able to the landless. The social land con- raised in a cession program can be a good way to presenta- institute a legal, transparent and pro-poor tion on process of state land allocation with ten- LASED in ure security instead of the current, anar- Kampong chic processes which provide no secu- Cham rity and often result in state land going to province at wealthier rather than poor people,” the end of Steven Schonberger said. March, LASED is intended as part of the sup- 2006 port for broader improvement in land tenure security, land management and land allocation consistent with the objectives village level, particularly for women, youth help provide information and be monitor- of the Royal Government’s Rectangular and indigenous groups in and around the ing agents to make the project more trans- Strategy, National Socio-Economic Devel- proposed social land concession area. parent. opment Plan and Land Policy Statement. During the mission, LASED-NPPT or- “GTZ has been supporting the prepa- The project will initially be focused ganized consultative meetings with NGOs ration of LASED in Kampong Cham and on three provinces – the current pilot prov- and civil society groups in both provinces Kratie provinces since the very beginning. inces of Kampong Cham and Kratie, and and a national dialogue in Phnom Penh We are ready to provide capacity building a third to be determined by the project where it met with provincial, district and for fair and just land distribution, focusing preparation team – to facilitate implemen- commune officials, and community repre- on commune-based social land concession tation and provide the basis for evaluat- sentatives and potential beneficiaries. The identification and beneficiary selection as ing key features of locally initiated SLCs. majority of civil society groups and com- well as demand-oriented service provision A pilot project for implementation of munities favor a land distribution program for the poor. Once the mechanisms for land social land concessions is being under- and are willing to participate to reduce identification and beneficiary selection are taken in Kratie (Kratie district) and Kampong Cham (Memot district) prov- The social land concession program can be a good way to institute a inces where some progress has been made legal, transparent and pro-poor process of state land allocation with in testing procedures for implementing land tenure security instead of the current, anarchic processes which identification procedures under the new provide no security and often result in state land going to wealthier Subdecree on State Land Management, rather than poor people including the importance of soil, forest and Steven Schonberger water assessments. The pilots demon- strate that the commune, district and pro- landlessness in their villages. developed, we would support capacity vincial authorities are working well to- Ros Sokhon, Deputy Governor of building for nation wide dissemination.” gether in addressing the challenges of land Memot district of Kampong Cham prov- Martin Orth, GTZ senior planning officer identification with widespread participa- ince, said he very much supports the said. tion, but they have also highlighted that project. Willingness among civil society and special provisions are required to ensure “LASED is new for my people,” he NGOs to participate, to disseminate infor- effective information dissemination at the said. “They don’t know much about it yet. mation, and to follow up on the process of Some of them think that this project is land distribution was found to be high and going to take their land. In fact, this project would be encouraged to promote effective is helping them with better service deliv- collaboration in implementing the process eries such as school, health and other in- of identification of land and potential ben- frastructure.” eficiaries. LASED will support measures to Srey Srorn, Representative from strengthen transparency and participation Women for Prosperity’s Kampong Cham in implementation through effective infor- office, said the project was a very good mation sharing and participation. way to help the poor and respond to the Cambodian Millennium Develop- For more information contact: ment Goals. Steven Schonberger “I think this project is very good,” she Rural Sector Coordinator said. “But it might be a challenge looking [email protected] for possible land for the project and or choosing who should be provided with Srey Srorn: I think this project is very the land. We want to see real poor and Ms. Chamroeun Mudita good. We want to see real poor and landless get the benefit from it.” Rural Deveolpment Officer landless get the benefit from it. She also said that NGOs are willing to Email: [email protected] May 2006 The World Bank Newsletter 3 Senior World Bank Development Researchers visit Cambodia wo Senior World Bank Development TResearchers, Martin Ravallion, Senior Research Manager, and Dominique Van Villagers at De Walle, Lead Economist in the Devel- Kroul Tun opment Research Group, visited Cambo- Song in dia to learn and to share their experiences Kampong Speu about land and poverty issues around the province world. explain their During their one-week visit, from fears about the March 8 to 14, 2006, they had a chance to Korean meet different groups and visited Phnom company that Srouch district in Kampong Speu prov- is trying to ince and Kampong Seila district in Koh remove them Kong province, where enormous tracts from the land. of forest land have been cleared and sold for farm land to individuals and private companies. However, massive areas of cleared land remain unused. The team also farming. However, he said around 5 percent grabbed by the company again,” said Bun visited villagers who live near or inside of his people are now landless. Nim, a representative for the women and land concession zones. “At the beginning we were happy be- children of Kraing Deivay commune. The researchers were accompanied on cause we thought that people could have “Our young generation is growing day their trip by World Bank staff based in better lives from selling their land,” he said. by day. They need land for living.” Phnom Penh – Nisha Agrawal, Country “But, now we are realizing that some of Village representatives said between Manager, Steven Schonberger, Rural Sec- them become poor and landless.” 20 and 30 percent of villagers had no farm- tor Coordinator, Chan Sophal, Poverty The team also met villagers at Kroul land. They were mainly either newlyweds Specialist, Mia Hyun, Poverty Specialist, Tun Song village which is located inside or newcomers to the village. Iv Ek Nimnuon, Program Assistant, and an economic land concession granted to In Son, first deputy commune chief, Bou Saroeun, Communications Specialist. the CJ Group company (a Korean Com- said there are several thousand hectares In Treng Troyoeung commune, the pany) to grow cassava. of state land within the commune that team met commune council members to More than half the villagers had moved could be allocated to landless people.

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