Lead-up to poll saw SLCs spike

9 May 2014
The Phnom Penh Post
Agricultural policy and administration / Agriculture and fishing / Civil society / Economic land concessions and plantations / Economic policy and administration / Economy and commerce / Ethnic minorities and indigenous people / Government / Human rights / Investment / Land / Land classifications / Land policy and administration / Land tenure and land titling / Law and judiciary / Laws and regulations / Ministries and other national bodies / Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction / Public land lease / Social development / Social land concessions
Adhoc / cadastral department / Cambodian Center for Human Rights / Directive 001 / Hun Sen / Ministry of Land Management / Thun Saray / Urban Planning and Construction

Prime Minister Hun Sen’s 2012 ban on the allocation of economic land concessions was supposed to halt the unpopular practice of turning over large swaths of property to developers. And going by the numbers last year, it worked. But in the vacuum, according to local rights group Adhoc, the government handed out an unprecedented number of a different kind of concession. The report found that 485 social land concessions, or SLCs, which are intended for the disadvantaged, were issued last year, covering a total area of more than 600,000 hectares, some six times the amount granted in 2012. Some SLCs were carved out of private land leased to large companies, while others overlapped with protected areas and state-owned land. … The figures contrast slightly with a study the Cambodian Center for Human Rights conducted into land conflicts between 2011 and 2013, which found 41 new disputes in 17 locations. The concerns include a lack of community consultations, where in many cases poor planning and analysis of suitable land have led to SLCs being awarded on land that is already claimed by other people or in the process of being registered as indigenous collective land. In April 2013, Muslim Cham migrants moved to an SLC in Mondulkiri’s Pech Chreada district, where Phnong villagers have lived for many years. The Phnong allege that since the Cham arrived, the group has cleared up to 500 hectares of indigenous land and sold the luxury timber to local police. The two communities have been at odds ever since. … The push to issue SLCs comes after years of pressure led Prime Minister Hun Sen in May 2012 to issue a directive temporarily suspending the issuance of new ELCs, which coincided with the launch of a land-titling scheme that officials claim has allocated more than 500,000 land titles. … According to government figures, under the May 2012 directive, the authorities have reclassified about 1 million hectares of land nationwide, including 340,000 hectares cut from 128 ELCs. Nearly 230,000 hectares have been cleaved from 16 forestry concessions and 500,000 hectares have been reclassified from state and forest land.

 May Titthara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/lead-poll-saw-slcs-spike