U Ngwe Thein COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGE OF RURAL LAND RESOURCES IN YWAY GONE VILLAGE TRACT, BAGO REGION, BURMA THEINGI MAY SOE RURAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST USAID TGCC PROGRAM MARCH 22, 2017 March 22, 2017

BACKGROUND INFORMATION Burma is a country where many ethnic people exist together Rich in natural resources 70% live in rural areas and rely on land and agriculture for their livelihoods Land is a vital natural resource, particularly for the most vulnerable Land reform is a critical area to support rural development March 22, 2017

NATIONAL LAND USE POLICY The National Land Use Policy (NLUP) was endorsed in January 2016 as an important step in the development of a new National Land Law NLUP takes into consideration the voices of vulnerable communities LTP has been testing elements of the NLUP at pilot sites in two rural communities Limited information about communities’ knowledge of their land resources and the national legal framework This study attempts to bring the voices and knowledge of such vulnerable communities into the national dialogue March 22, 2017

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Strengthen evidence base of community members’ knowledge and understanding of: Their rural land resources Existing land law and policy Use of land information to engage in public participation for policy consultation Their land tenure security March 22, 2017

STUDY LOCATION Bago Region Yway Gone Village Tract 4 Villages: Heingyu, San Gyi, Yway Gone, Bant Bway Gone Most residents are Barmar, except Heingyu village, which is ethnic Kayin people with some recent Barma arrivals March 22, 2017

METHODOLOGY Face-to-face interview 100 community members over age 18 Sampled from four villages Data analysis with SPSS software (version 16.0) March 22, 2017

RESPONDENT CHARACTERISTICS 51% Male and 49% Female Monastery Uneducated Other Bamboo cutting Dependent Driver Hairdresser Livestock March 22, 2017

EDUCATION AND OCCUPATION TRENDS Farmers and daily workers have lower levels of education Those with higher levels of education work as merchants or move to other areas March 22, 2017

EXISTING LAND LAW AND POLICY: FARMLAND LAW Land Use Certificate (Form 7) gives right to work farm land Form 7 grants ‘land use rights’ which can be transferred, exchanged Formation of farm land management bodies and their duties and authorities Land dispute resolution with respect to farming rights March 22, 2017

EXISTING LAND LAW AND POLICY: NLUP Land use administration Land information management Land dispute resolution Land use rights of ethnic nationalities Equal rights of men and women Monitoring and evaluation Research and development etc. It is important for communities to understand the NLUP to improve their engagement in public consultation March 22, 2017

COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGE OF EXISTING LAND LAWS AND POLICY Only 24 community members understood existing land law and policy Men working as farmers had higher levels of understanding than others 89 community members stated that knowledge of existing land law/policy is important for their land tenure security and public participation March 22, 2017

COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGE OF EXISTING LAND LAWS AND POLICY 45% of women stated that it is important to learn about land-related laws and policies Women play a critical role in raising and feeding their families, managing their households, or tending to their crops and animals U Ngwa Thein March 22, 2017

FORMAL ENGAGEMENT IN LAND-RELATED DECISION MAKING Farmland Law mandates formation of Farmland Management Body at multiple levels (Region/State, district, township, ward or village tract) Community members can participate in village tract level Farmland Management Body Farmland Management Body role is to scrutinize all cases in accordance with law with respect to the right to work farmland for registration, transferring, recording of transfers in register book, receiving and deciding land disputes as well as cases of appeal and revision March 22, 2017

FARMLAND MANAGEMENT BODY ENGAGEMENT 77 community members did not know that their village tract has a Farmland Management Body At village tract level, committee members include Village Tract Administrator and village leaders from each village. All members were male. March 22, 2017

WOMEN’S ENGAGEMENT IN LAND DECISION MAKING Women are involved in land decision making at the family level 63 community members stated that women (especially mothers and wives) participate in land-related decision making with family members in order to lease or transfer land Women are not engaged in formal decision making bodies 37 community members stated that women could not be involved in land related decision making at village tract level because they were busy with their chores, no space for women, lack of time to be involved in the committee, no invitation to attend meetings 91 community members strongly believe that both men and women should have equal land rights to participate in land use committee March 22, 2017

LAND USE RIGHTS Community members report using land resources for multiple purposes: agriculture, forest, settlement area, grazing Community members understand the importance of land use certificates (Form 7) for land tenure security 50 community members have their own land for cultivation (title) but the rest were landless Of those who have title on land, 48 community members also have land use certificates (Form 7) March 22, 2017

LAND USE RIGHTS 85% of community members only had male names on their land documentation (title and land use certificate) 7 community members had female names on documentation Women expressed more interest in individual land rights than communal land rights 44 community members requested technical skills to manage their land March 22, 2017

KEY CHALLENGES OF COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGE ON RURAL LAND RESOURCES Low education level Language barriers Lack of communication with local authorities Limited information sharing and transparency Lack of land information resource center Lack of legal recognition of other lands and their customary rights March 22, 2017

Education and outreach increases public awareness, information sharing, and transparency Increased public participation by communities, stronger voice of communities Stronger accountability by listening and responding to the voice of community and keeping commitments to communities Good Land Governance WAY FORWARD Working Together Civil Society Organizations Local NGOs, INGOs Government Private Sector Communities March 22, 2017

Theingi May Soe TheingiMay.Soe@tetratech.com March 22, 2017