Tens of Thousands Eligible for Land Titles Under New Policy

Tens of thousands of families – many of them currently embroiled in land disputes – will be eligible for land titles under an ambitious policy announced by Prime Minister Hun Sen last week, government officials said yesterday. … On June 14, Mr. Hun Sen announced an elaborate land titling policy for villagers living inside state forests, economic land concessions and former timber concessions, and said he had given the ministries and provincial officials six months to measure land and begin installing a land title registry. Mr. Socheat Khemro said working groups had been established in each province to map the land, collect villagers’ identities and trace their history of occupancy. The land management minister, meanwhile, had canceled a number of planned meetings overseas in order to complete the reform process in six months. … At least 30,000 families that are currently engaged in land conflicts would be eligible for titles under the new policy, estimated Mr. Soveth, who noted that hundreds of people have been charged for land-dispute related crimes in the last year. …