Investing in Myanmar’s forests and communities

TANINTHARYI REGION – In Myanmar, Landesa is working alongside national and regional governments to secure the land rights of hundreds of thousands of indigenous people, many of whom live in community forests. Ensuring communities have rights over the forests in which they live helps protect their access to and use of land, preserve long-held cultural practices, and conserve forests and wildlife habitats.

Meet Ma Phyu. She lives in a community forest in Myanmar, and has a nursery in which she grows native trees (pictured above), which will bolster her family’s income and preserve the forest.

In 1999, Ma Phyu and her village were displaced by conflict. Many villagers relocated to a new area and began farming again, not knowing that the land was within protected forests. When Landesa began working with the Forest Department to provide secure land rights to forest communities in Myanmar, Ma Phyu’s village received a certificate protecting their right to farm legally in the forests. Now, Ma Phyu is the secretary of her village’s Forest Management Committee and she is encouraging other women to step into leadership roles.  

“Before we always had to worry about whether our farms would be removed or if we would be sued for trespassing. Now, I am confident…& dare to announce to anyone that this is my farm."

Tomorrow, May 8th, is GiveBIG. Schedule your gift today, or donate tomorrow, to help communities in Myanmar protect vulnerable forests.

GiveBIG ON MAY 8TH

Strengthening land governance and dispute resolution in Zimbabwe

HARARE – In March, Landesa and Collaborative Decision Resources Associates conducted a 5-day Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) workshop for the Zimbabwe Land Commission, the government's recently formed land administration body.

The training focused on comparison of alternative dispute resolution approaches, Zimbabwe's land governance framework, mediation processes and conflict resolution simulations. The workshop was the first of its kind held to build capacity of members on how to resolve disputes through mediation instead of litigation. Thirty-eight participants completed the training, seventeen of whom were women, in a great step for Landesa's engagement in Zimbabwe. 

"It is indeed important for the Zimbabwe Land Commission to enhance its capacity on resolving disputes, using various skills as provided for in various ADR mechanisms."

- Chairwoman Tendai Bare
Zimbabwe Land Commission

China eyes further reforms to land laws

BEIJING – In April, Landesa founder Roy Prosterman met with Jun Han, Deputy Minister of China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, to discuss ongoing efforts to strengthen the land rights of millions of farmers. The meeting follows landmark reforms in China late last year that helped strengthen the land rights of 240 million rural households.

According to an article in Farmers Daily, a Chinese agricultural newspaper, Deputy Minister Han applauded Landesa for the studies it has carried out on land reforms in China for decades and the valuable recommendations Landesa made to the government. 

READ THE TRANSLATED ARTICLE

Landesa at Women Deliver 2019