"Listen to the Concerns of the People"

“For the poor and the disadvantaged people, the right to use land is important and also the resource to ensure their food security and livelihoods. For many people, especially ethnic minority communities, forest and land is part of their cultural and national identity. Reclamation of agricultural land without going through a transparent process and not compensating adequately will deprive those people of the opportunity to choose alternative livelihoods, which would push them back to poverty, even to destitution. The poor and disadvantaged communities are the ones who suffer the most as a result of shortcomings in land policies, corruption and abuse," said Mrs Le Kim Dung - Representative of Oxfam.

 

Currently, Oxfam is supporting the public consultation on the draft of the revised Land Law, in cooperation with the Institute for Legislative Studies of the National Assembly Standing Committee, a number of socio-political organizations, and non-governmental organizations. Community consultation activities collect practical experiences, concerns and recommendations of small-scale farmers, the poor, people living on the margins of society, females and ethnic minorities. Special consultation process collects feedback related to land use planning, land use rights change, agricultural land for ethnic minorities, land reclamation, land acquisition, compensation and resettlement assistance. This process consults 1,200 people, as well as a number of enterprises, state-owned agro-forestry farms, forest management board, socio-political organizations and local authorities of 28 communes, 14 districts, and five provinces. The consultation is expected to be implemented in Hoa Binh, Yen Bai, Quang Binh, Long An and An Giang, and the results will be announced in February-March 2013.

 

Land disputes between local communities and agro-forestry farms or forest management boards are increasing and getting more complex. According to Oxfam, the Government should speed up the process, publicize the results of land use assessments, increase productivity, ability to create jobs, accountability, social functions and share the benefits of agriculture, forestry and protected forest management. Where agricultural land management is ineffective, the government should allocate land to farmers and communities, especially to households with little or no land, and ethnic minorities. This is aimed at reducing poverty and promoting agricultural and rural development.

 

"The minority communities have proven they are very good land and forest protectors. To them, the law of forest land management is not only particularly important for their livelihood, but also has great significance for spiritual values and beliefs. The revised law should recognize the customary laws of the land management and general land use rights of ethnic minorities,” said Mrs Dung.