Despite a 2001 law allowing indigenous communities to obtain collective title to traditional lands, land alienation has been a major problem in Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia; some villages have been left nearly landless.[1] The national government has granted concessions over land traditionally possessed by Ratanakiri's indigenous peoples,[1][2][3] and even land "sales" have often involved bribes to officials, coercion, threats, or misinformation.[1] For instance, a group of Ratanakiri villagers in 2001 were given salt and promises of development by military representatives in exchange for thumbprinting documents that—unbeknownst to them—transferred ownership of their ancestral lands to a military general.[4] Following the involvement of several international NGOs, land alienation has decreased in frequency.[5] These NGOs have assisted in the training of provincial government officials, promoting understanding of indigenous community concerns as well as encouraging dialog between the provincial and national governments.[5] Pilot communal land titling projects have aimed to give legal force to traditional land ownership.[6] Community natural resource management initiatives in Ratanakiri have been successful and have served as models for similar programs on a national level.[7][5][8]
References
Further reading
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