Cambodia Unveils Land Grant Program to Empower the Poor & Protect Forests

• Sommana Yan
• 26 August 2024
• Local News
• 1727 Views

The Cambodian government has announced a new initiative, the Land Grant-Protection Program for Sustainable Development, which aims to provide social land concessions to impoverished Cambodians to curb deforestation and illegal encroachment on state land. Prime Minister Hun Manet outlined the program’s objectives during a special statement on the one-year achievements of the Royal Government of the 7th legislature of the National Assembly on 22 August 2024.

The Land Grant-Protection Program for Sustainable Development is designed to allocate land to Cambodians who lack property, offering them the opportunity to improve their livelihoods while contributing to the conservation of land and forests. As part of this initiative, the government will distribute land within the framework of social land concessions, particularly targeting those in the northeast region and other areas at risk of deforestation and illegal land encroachment.

The PM emphasised that the program not only aims to provide land to those in need but also to engage local communities in the protection of Cambodia’s natural resources.

“The state must arrange land concessions within the framework of social land concessions to the Cambodian people who lack land. This will help organise development on the spot so that they can improve the lives of poor people,” he explained.

The program is expected to address two critical issues: supporting Cambodians who lack land and preventing the illegal exploitation of state land and forests. By involving local populations in these conservation efforts, the initiative hopes to achieve sustainable development and environmental protection simultaneously.

Implementation of the Land Grant-Protection Program is scheduled to begin by the end of 2024, focusing on regions that are particularly vulnerable to deforestation and land encroachment.

• Policy and Strategy
• land development and policy