Strengthening Land Governance
Since Myanmar’s military took power in February 2021, its autocratic stance and renewed reliance on an illicit and extractive economy with related land acquisition, has increased the threats to smallholder farmer land rights. In this situation, Switzerland will continue to strengthen the capacity of non-governmental actors to work towards more inclusive land policy and practice, and to support and protect the rights and livelihoods of female and male small landowners.
| Pays/région | Thème | Période | Budget |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Myanmar |
Gouvernance nothemedefined
Participation démocratique et société civile
Politique du secteur publique |
01.06.2022
- 31.12.2024 |
CHF 4’915’000
|
- The ability of Myanmar CSOs to operate and work on issues related to land, livelihoods and climate change to the benefit of communities is improved and civic space is protected
- Food security and livelihoods of smallholder farmers are supported in time of crisis
- Innovative and gender-sensitive policies on equitable and climate-adaptive land governance are developed and advocated
- Data and information for land and natural resource governance, including sex-disaggregated data, is enhanced and made available
- 5 Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs) and 3 political parties adopted policies advocated by CSOs
- Civil society organisations (CSOs) participated in and influenced the formulation of Myanmar’s first National Land Use Policy
- Advocacy for increased inclusion and sustainability in land-related laws such as the Forest Act, the Biodiversity and Natural Areas Protection Act, the Agricultural Land Act, the Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Land Management Act, and the Land Acquisition Act
- Government departments (under the civilian regime) have strengthened their capacity in the use and management of geospatial information systems (GIS)
- An online platform for spatial data was created
- Other international or foreign NGO North
- Secteur privé suisse
- Land Core Group (LCG) and the Transnational Institute (TNI): Programme contributions; University of Bern/CDE: Directly awarded mandate for follow-up phase (art 21. Lit. e LMP)
-
Secteur selon catégorisation du Comité d'aide au développement de l'OCDE GOUVERNEMENT ET SOCIETE CIVILE
GOUVERNEMENT ET SOCIETE CIVILE
Sous-Secteur selon catégorisation du Comité d'aide au développement de l'OCDE Participation démocratique et société civile
Politiques publiques et gestion administrative
Thème transversal Le projet est axé sur la promotion de la biodiversité.
Réduction des risques de conflit
Le projet est axé sur l'amélioration du fonctionnement de l'organisation partenaire
Type d'aide Mandat avec gestion de fonds
Contribution à des projets ou programmes
Numéro de projet 7F09174
| Contexte | The military takeover in February 2021 has altered the dynamics of local governance and land governance, bringing to a halt a series of reforms initiated under the civilian government. Even before the coup, there were few pro-poor policies in Myanmar. Instead, policies and laws favour the elites and their businesses and further marginalise the urban and rural poor. Poverty and lack of development is also one of the main grievances of ethnic groups and minorities and also the main driver of opium cultivation. Large-scale unsustainable natural resource extraction and land grabbing have led to severe environmental degradation, especially in ethnic areas where most of the country's natural resources are located. As the economic fallout from the coup spreads, there is evidence that the State Administrative Council (SAC) is becoming more dependent on unsustainable natural resource extraction and land grabbing. As a result, the rights and livelihoods of smallholder farmers and in particular female smallholder farmers have been under increasing pressure. According to the FAO, of the estimated 5.4 million farm households in Myanmar, 76% are smallholders (47% of whom are women). In a context where the central state is not percieved as a legitimate actor by the general public and is not fulfilling its function as a duty bearer, ethnic organisations and CSOs have a key role to play in promoting the rights of land users, but also in formulating and proposing avenues of reform to policy-makers in areas under administrative control of Ethnic Armed Groups and to emerging political actors such as the National Unity Government (NUG) and the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC). Switzerland continues its longstanding engagement on land governance through established and trusted partnerships. It aims to preserve the role of civil society in shaping land policy and practice for the benefit of smallholder farmers. |
| Objectifs | Female and male smallscale land users of different ethnicities in Southeast Myanmar can safeguard their right and access to land, thereby contributing to more sustainable livelihoods and natural resource use. |
| Groupes cibles |
Until the context changes back to one more conducive of systemic approaches, the target groups include smallholder farmers, CSOs and CSO networks with a main focus on the South-East (Mon, Kayin, Bago, Tanintharyi Region) as well as South-Shan, as well as alternate political actors such as the National Unity Government, the National Unity Consultative Council, and Ethnic Armed Organizations. Unlike in the two previous phases, the project will not directly collaborate with government bodies as per Switzerland’s current principles of engagement, which are aligned to the principles of engagement of the UN and other like-minded donors. |
| Effets à moyen terme |
|
| Résultats |
Principaux résultats attendus: 1.1 Enhanced CSOs’ organisational development in leadership, financial management, programme management, organisational governance, conflict sensitivity, monitoring and evaluation. 2.1. CSOs address some of the emerging needs of rural communities and smallholder farmers (livelihoods, protection), in particular women, which are a prerequisite for development work and for solving land issues. 3.1 Civil society engages in effective advocacy, directly or indirectly, with non-state actors and democratic institutions. 4.1 Knowledge on the use, management and governance of land and natural resources is generated through research, enabling CSOs to influence the formulation of land policies that reflect the views and interests of small-scale land users, minorities and women. 4.2 CSOs active in the land sector are able to collect, analyse and safeguard geospatial data. Principaux résultats antérieurs: |
| Direction/office fédéral responsable |
DDC |
| Partenaire de projet |
Partenaire contractuel ONG internationale ou étrangère Secteur privé |
| Coordination avec d'autres projets et acteurs | GRO (Care), GoMP (Helvetas/IUCN); Paung Ku: Direct Action; MRLG (Gret), TDLG (UNDP); LIFT |
| Budget | Phase en cours Budget de la Suisse CHF 4’915’000 Budget suisse déjà attribué CHF 4’834’458 Projet total depuis la première phase Budget de la Suisse CHF 14’415’000 Budget y compris partenaires de projet CHF 19’915’000 |
| Phases du projet |
Phase 3 01.06.2022 - 31.12.2024 (Completed) Phase 2 01.06.2017 - 31.07.2022 (Completed) Phase 1 01.10.2014 - 31.05.2017 (Completed) |
