Creating opportunity for Cambodia’s rural families
More than three-quarters of Cambodia’s 16 million people live in rural areas, and nearly half of the country’s workforce is employed in agriculture, making land essential to the livelihoods of the majority of Cambodians. However, despite recent economic progress, the country remains among the poorest in Asia, with as much as one-third of the population living in poverty – the overwhelming majority in rural areas.
Working alongside partners in government and civil society, Landesa is contributing technical assistance and expertise to the country’s ongoing land reform efforts, with the goal of securing land rights for millions of rural households.
Our Progress
Land to the landless
Landesa supports the Royal Government of Cambodia in its renewed effort to secure the land rights of millions of land-insecure rural families. Landesa is working with the government, civil society, and the World Bank to ensure that the people in these farming, forest, and fishing communities have access to the secure tenure rights needed to enhance and protect their livelihoods.
Support for rural land rights groups
Landesa provides technical and financial support to community-based organizations in lowland, upland, and coastal areas. This support assists these groups work to secure the livelihoods of their communities through land allocation and registration.
Law and policy assistance
As Cambodia amends its Land Law and related policies, Landesa works with the Parliamentary Center of Asia and Open Development Cambodia to build capacity of Parliament and civil society in legislative drafting, legal literacy, and comparative analysis of laws. Improvements to these laws and policies have the potential to strengthen the land rights and livelihoods of three million rural Cambodian families.