The webinar Pathways to Customary Land & Forest Rights in the Mekong took place on July 2, 2024 from 9:00-11:00 CEST | 14:00-16:00 BKK/VTE.

This webinar presented findings from research conducted by the Mekong Region Land Governance (MRLG) Program and its partners on the recognition and formalization of customary tenure rights across the Mekong region. It highlighte key themes from two important regional publications: "The Recognition and Formalization of Customary Tenure in the Forest Landscapes of the Mekong Region: A Polanyian Perspective" and the "State of Land Brief: Recognition of Customary Tenure in Forest Landscapes of the Mekong Region."

The event provided a comprehensive overview of the current state of customary land rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples in the region, focusing on the complexities of tenure recognition. The webinar provided insights into country-specific experiences from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. These discussions will serve as a basis for exploring the pathways, challenges, and methodologies that can improve the recognition of customary land and forest rights. 

Participants gained a deeper understanding of the different approaches and the importance of recognizing customary tenure rights, as well as the innovative solutions and best practices that can be scaled up or replicated to improve tenure security for local communities.

The webinar took place in English, Khmer, Lao, and Vietnamese.

The State of Land in the Mekong Region webinar series is a collaborative effort by the Land Portal Foundation, MRLG, and CDE at the University of Bern that spotlights the evolving landscape of land governance in the Mekong region. This series, set in the final phase of the MRLG program (2023-2025), aims to share insights and address challenges in land governance across four countries. Emphasizing openness and information accessibility, each webinar will explore key trends, issues, and solutions in land governance.

MRLG is a project of the Government of Switzerland, through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), with co-financing from the Government of Germany and the Government of Luxembourg.