New regulations of the Land Law 2024 in Vietnam are a significant achievement for the Mekong Region Land Governance (MRLG) project, advancing its fundamental principles of promoting land tenure security, equitable access, and improved governance. This law strengthens land rights for smallholder farmers, ethnic minorities, and women, explicitly safeguarding them in the process of land transition for socioeconomic development and ensuring access to land resources.
Inclusivity in land governance has been a cornerstone of the MRLG project. The 2024 Land Law indicates the right of citizens to participate in the land policy process and emphasizes transparency and democratic decision-making in land use planning, in land acquisition, compensation, support, and resettlement to develop the economy and society for national and public benefit, etc. This participatory approach reflects MRLG’s commitment to fostering accountable and inclusive governance. The law emphasises the state’s responsibility to have land policies for ethnic minorities and indicates principles for gender equality in land use and management.
The law also harmonizes with forestry and agricultural practices, aligning with the Forestry Law to enhance sustainable forest management and promote efficient agricultural land use. This reflects MRLG’s aim to support sustainable and productive land use through community and smallholder-based management. The law enables smallholder-based land consolidation for robust agriculture investments and clearly stipulates allocating production, protection, and special-use forest land to communities.
Clear regulations for land expropriation, compensation, and resettlement in Land Law 2024 ensure fair treatment for those affected by land acquisition by providing several options for compensation. This echoes MRLG’s advocacy for responsible land practices and support for affected communities.
The MRLG alliance’s role in contributing to this law has been significant through collaboration, capacity-building, and advocacy with state agencies. Their work has reinforced MRLG’s impact in Vietnam, contributing to its overall objective of improving land and forest resource governance in the region.
The Land Law 2024 lays a foundation for secure, equitable, and sustainable land governance. However, challenges persist. Grassroots implementation faces hurdles due to capacity constraints, limited awareness, and bureaucratic obstacles. Addressing these issues requires sustained effort and stakeholder collaboration. Additionally, cultural barriers affecting gender equality in land governance continue to be challenging. Despite these obstacles, Land Law 2024 signals a positive shift towards inclusive and equitable land governance in Vietnam.
With continued support from government agencies, civil society, and international partners, there’s hope to overcome these challenges. The momentum from Land Law 2024 offers an opportunity to build on achievements, learn from challenges, and work towards a future with secure and equitable land tenure for all in Vietnam.
Ms. Hoang Van Anh, MRLG Policy Adviser for Vietnam, views the process as highly opportune for the Alliance’s advocacy for land governance“The Land Law is one of the few laws that collected public feedback during its development. In my view, gathering citizen feedback during the revision of the 2013 Land Law brought significant benefits. Firstly, citizens’ comments, suggestions, advice, and critiques were gathered and presented to the government and National Assembly. Secondly, this was a broad political activity that demonstrated democracy in the legislative process. The feedback was acknowledged and explained by the government and MONRE on their websites. Lastly, this process increased public awareness of land policies, positively influencing citizens’ behavior regarding law enforcement.”
