Since April 2014, Mekong Region Land Governance Project (MRLG) aims to improve land tenure security of smallholder farmers in the Mekong Region through contributing to the design and implementation of appropriate land policies and practices. It responds to national priorities in terms of reducing poverty, increasing economic development and supporting smallholder farmers, so that they can be secure and make good decisions on land use and land management.
A first phase of four years has allowed MRLG to build partnerships and support a number of initiatives aiming at improving land tenure security for smallholder women and men farmers across Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV). MRLG Phase 1 implemented diverse and innovative activities across a large spectrum of land governance and land tenure-related issues, worked with a broad range of partners, (including CSOs, academia, research institutes, government departments, agencies, and the private sector), and deployed multiple instruments in its operations. This included small and larger grants, workshops, training events, technical assistance, knowledge products, conferences, networking, alliance-building, etc.
An End of Phase Evaluation and Project Formulation was conducted in September 2017 to review all aspects of the project and determine the feasibility for a second phase. After a year of transition, MRLG Phase 2 has started in October 2018 and will operate for four years.
Built on Phase 1 successes, the project Phase 2 remains focused on addressing land governance issues in the CLMV region, but with a shift towards supporting the strategic engagement of reform actors in the policy making processes at national, sub-national and regional levels.
MRLG will establish alliances of reform actors at regional level and in each country that will collaborate on two main thematic areas: the recognition of Customary Tenure (CT) and Responsible Agricultural Investment (RAI). Land Rights Awareness Raising, Land Conflict Transformation and Gender are cross-cutting themes that will remain fundamental to MRLG strategic approaches. Each alliance will develop collaboratively their strategies and programmes based on a Theory of Change approach that will form the basis for specific projects.
MRLG Project Implementation Unit (PIU) office is based in Vientiane, Laos with three sub-offices in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam.
The Mekong Region Land Governance Project (MRLG) is a project of the Government of Switzerland, through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), with co-financing from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Government of Luxembourg.
The MRLG project is implemented by Land Equity International (LEI) in partnership with GRET Professionals for Fair Development and supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft fűr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
MRLG Team
