Study on Communal Land Registration in Lao PDR Land Policy Study No. 6 under LLTP II Katrin Seidel Khamla Phanvilay Bounlath Vorachit Lau Mua Somthong Boupphachan Robert B. Oberndorf Sponsored by: Lao-German Land Policy Development Project (German Contribution to the Land Titling Project II in Lao PDR) February 2007 This study is part of a series of Land Policy Studies conducted in preparation of a coherent and comprehensive “National Land Policy Statement for Lao PDR”. The following studies have already been published in this series: No. 1: Study on Land Allocation to Individual Households in Rural Areas of Lao PDR; December 2004 Authors: Bouakham Soulivanh, Anothai Chantalasy, Phounsavat Suphida, Florian Lintzmeyer, Florian Rock No. 2: Study on Land Markets in Urban and Rural Areas of Lao PDR; March 2005 Authors: Bouakham Soulivanh, Anothai Chantalasy, Phounsavat Suphida, Florian Lintzmeyer, Florian Rock No. 3: Study on Land Tax and Fees Policy in Lao PDR; February 2006 Authors: Simon Keith, Pheuiphanh Ngaosrivathana, Bouakham Soulivanh, Onsy Phimsomphou, Chanh Denuthai No. 4: Study on State Land Leases and Concessions in Lao PDR; June 2006 Authors: Gunda Schumann, Pheuiphanh Ngaosrivathana, Bouakham Soulivanh, Somboun Kenpraseuth, Khamdeng Onmanivong, Khamthanh Vongphansipraseuth, Chithasone Bounkhong No. 5: Study on Urban Land markets in Lao PDR; September 2006 Authors: Babette Wehrmann, Bouakham Soulivanh, Khamdeng Onmanivong _______________________________________________________________ ii Acknowledgement The study team would like to thank all the organizations and individuals that have contributed to the success of this study. The results of our work have greatly benefited from our discussions with government officials of the Department of Land, the National Land Management Agency, the Ministry of Justice and the Ethnic Department of the Lao Front for National Construction. Particular thanks go to GTZ staff in Luang Namtha province and Dak Lak province (Vietnam) for technical and logistical support. We are also particularly grateful to Holger Grages and Gerry Duckitt of the German Agro Action Integrated Poverty Reduction Project for sharing their time, knowledge, experience, and homes during our stay in Phongsaly province. Last but not least, we would like to thank the people in all study villages that have received us and our questions with enormous patience and generous hospitality. iii Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENT..................................................................................................................................III TABLE OF CONTENTS....................................................................................................................................IV LIST OF TABLES, MAPS AND FIGURES.......................................................................................................V LIST OF ACRONYMS ......................................................................................................................................VI EXECUTIVE SUMMARY............................................................................................................................... VII I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 OBJECTIVES................................................................................................................................................... 1 1.3 STUDY TEAM................................................................................................................................................. 2 1.4 METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................................................ 3 1.5 INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY VILLAGES ..................................................................................................... 5 1.6 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY ......................................................................................................................... 6 1.7 DEFINITIONS AND TERMINOLOGY ................................................................................................................. 7 II. RESULTS FROM THE FIELD WORK........................................................................................................ 9 2.1 COMMUNAL TENURE SYSTEMS ..................................................................................................................... 9 2.2 MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS OF COMMUNAL LANDS........................................................................................ 13 2.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMUNITIES AND USER GROUPS........................................................................... 17 2.4 CONFLICTS AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION .................................................................................................... 18 2.5 ROLE AND IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNAL LANDS......................................................................................... 19 2.6 TRENDS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR COMMUNAL LAND MANAGEMENT .......................................................... 21 2.7 PERCEPTION ON COMMUNAL LAND REGISTRATION .................................................................................... 23 III. TOWARDS COMMUNAL LAND REGISTRATION IN THE LAO PDR............................................ 25 3.1 OBJECTIVES FOR COMMUNAL LAND REGISTRATION ................................................................................... 25 3.2 RISKS INVOLVED IN THE REGISTRATION OF COMMUNAL LANDS................................................................. 26 3.3 OPTIONS FOR COMMUNAL LAND REGISTRATION ........................................................................................ 27 IV. EXPERIENCES FROM CAMBODIA AND VIETNAM ......................................................................... 30 4.1 HISTORY AND BACKGROUND ...................................................................................................................... 30 4.2 LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK ......................................................................................................................... 31 4.3 STATE OF IMPLEMENTATION ....................................................................................................................... 33 4.4 LESSONS LEARNED...................................................................................................................................... 35 V. LEGAL AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS OF COMMUNAL LAND REGISTRATION ...................... 37 5.1 EXPLANATION OF REGISTRATION AND TITLING .......................................................................................... 37 5.2 RECOGNIZING COMMUNITIES AND USER GROUPS FOR COMMUNAL TITLING.............................................. 38 5.3 TYPES OF LAND FOR REGISTRATION AND TITLING...................................................................................... 39 5.4 TYPES OF RIGHTS GRANTED THROUGH REGISTRATION AND TITLING.......................................................... 40 5. 5 LAND AND FOREST LAND CATEGORIES/CLASSIFICATIONS......................................................................... 41 5.6 AMOUNT OF LAND TO BE REGISTERED AND TITLED.................................................................................... 42 5.7 RECOGNITION OF CUSTOMARY USE ............................................................................................................ 42 5.8 LAND DISPUTE CONFLICT RESOLUTION PROCEDURES ................................................................................ 43 5.9 CAN COMMUNAL LAND TITLE BE RECOGNIZED IN THE CURRENT FRAMEWORK?........................................ 44 5.10 OPTIONS FOR SUPPORTING COMMUNAL LAND TITLE................................................................................ 45 VI. SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS AND NEXT STEPS .............................................................. 48 6.1 NATURE AND CONTENT OF COMMUNAL TITLE ........................................................................................... 48 6.2 LEGAL AND POLICY DEVELOPMENT WITH REGARDS TO COMMUNAL LAND TITLING .................................. 50 6.3 IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMUNAL LAND TITLING ...................................................................................... 51 6.4 CLOSING THE KNOWLEDGE GAP: FURTHER RESEARCH AND STUDIES......................................................... 52 LITERATURE REFERENCE........................................................................................................................... 53 APPENDIX I: TERMS OF REFERENCE....................................................................................................... 56 iv APPENDIX II: LIST OF INTERVIEWS IN VIENTIANE ............................................................................ 60 APPENDIX III: TIME SCHEDULE................................................................................................................. 61 APPENDIX IV: VILLAGE CHECKLIST ....................................................................................................... 62 APPENDIX V: VILLAGE PROFILES............................................................................................................. 69 BAN NONGBUA, SING DISTRICT,