Mekong Region Land Governance (MRLG)
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has been supporting the Mekong Region Land Governance (MRLG) project in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) since April 2014.
Country/region | Topic | Period | Budget |
---|---|---|---|
Mekong |
Agriculture & food security Governance
Agricultural policy
Legal and judicial development Democratic participation and civil society |
01.05.2013
- 31.12.2018 |
CHF 13’350’000
|
- strengthening the effectiveness of a wide range of stakeholders to participate in land-related reform processes, through learning and regional cooperation,
- supporting the emergence of more favorable policies and practices.
- makes available reliable information and analyses on land tenure and good practices to the stakeholders working in this area,
- supports specific projects and initiatives, for example ongoing government policy processes or learning processes, through three facilities: “learning and alliance building”, the “Quick Disbursement Fund” and the “Innovation Fund”,
- supports the establishment of regional networks for capacity development, cross-border learning and multi-stakeholder cooperation.
- National State Institute North
- LEI (Land Equity International) & GRET (Professionals for Fair Development)
-
Sector according to the OECD Developement Assistance Commitiee categorisation AGRICULTURE
GOVERNMENT AND CIVIL SOCIETY
GOVERNMENT AND CIVIL SOCIETY
Sub-Sector according to the OECD Developement Assistance Commitiee categorisation Agricultural policy and administrative management
Legal and judicial development
Democratic participation and civil society
Cross-cutting topics Conflict reduction
The project also supports partner organisation improvements
Type of support Official development assistance (ODA)
Type of collaboration Bilateral cooperation
Finance type Aid grant
Aid Type Mandate with fiduciary funds
Tied/untied aid Untied aid
Project number 7F08757
Background |
Since around 2000, governments in the Mekong Region began granting large-scale and long-term land concessions of agricultural and forest land to international and domestic investors, mostly for industrial agriculture, logging, mining, and hydropower. This has resulted in a significant shrinking of the area available for family agriculture and community forestry, and reduced access to natural resources that used to contribute to food security. The situation for family farmers is made even more difficult by the loss of land tenure and use rights, environmental degradation, resettlement, and limited prospects of finding alternative employment. The various stakeholders and their competing interests make land governance a highly sensitive and politically important topic that is at the very center of development challenges in the Mekong region. The “people to land” relationship in the Mekong region is such that land is seen as more than just the basis for livelihood. It is also essential for peoples’ social and cultural identity and even their sense of self-worth. Ultimately, the good governance of land is a precondition for social harmony and political stability. |
Objectives |
The project’s overall goal is to contribute to family farmers in the Mekong region to have more secure tenure (ownership and access) over land, by: To reach these goals the project: |
Results |
Expected results: The MLRG “Innovation Fund” (IF) provides medium term funding allowing reform actors to pilot improved tenure policy and practices, e.g. based on knowledge acquired through the learning activities. The 1st and 2nd Calls for Proposals were met with an exceptional response on both occasions in May 2015 and 2016. Up to 25 projects are expected to be funded from November 2015 onwards, across all four CLMV countries. The project design provides flexibility for partnership and alliance with other donors. Thus Germany joined with financial and technical contributions as per since May 2015, and the government of Luxembourg joins in September 2016 as a co-donor. The project has created a substantial level of awareness among a wide variety of stakeholders in the region and within a short period of time, and is expected to gain further momentum over the next years. |
Directorate/federal office responsible |
SDC |
Credit area |
Development cooperation |
Project partners |
Contract partner International or foreign NGO Foreign state institution |
Budget | Current phase Swiss budget CHF 13’350’000 Swiss disbursement to date CHF 13’143’166 |
Project phases |
Phase
3
01.01.2023
- 31.12.2025
(Current phase)
Phase 2
01.07.2018
- 31.12.2022
(Active)
Phase 1 01.05.2013 - 31.12.2018 (Active) |