Phase III of the Mekong Region Land Governance project closed in December 2025. This page will remain active for a limited time, but all publication materials and toolkits have been transferred to a permanent home on the Land Portal site here.

Publications

Access MRLG’s repository of resources and research for informed decision-making and discover a wealth of knowledge to drive positive change and significant impact.

Lessons from a decade of policy engagement in the land governance sector in the Mekong Region (MRLG Capex study executive summary)

The Mekong Region Land Governance Project (MRLG), active from 2014 to 2025, aimed to strengthen land tenure security in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Viet Nam through a politically informed, adaptive approach. Key findings reveal that MRLG’s success lay in building multistakeholder alliances, fostering constructive government engagement, and using evidence-based advocacy to influence policy. The project advanced normative change and policy reforms—such as contributing to Viet Nam’s 2024 Land L…

September 11, 2025 · Cecilia Luttrell and Arnaldo Pellini · MRLG · Mekong Region · English · Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial - ShareAlikeInternational (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Lessons learned from policy engagement in Lao PDR: Instruction 0457 and the establishment of responsible agricultural investment practices

This case study highlights strategies, challenges and lessons learned from multi-year engagement of MRLG and its partners in shaping Instruction 0457 and related policies including a revised Law on Investment Promotion. It is part of MRLG’s Capitalisation of Experience (Capex), which draws lessons learned from over 10 years of MRLG policy and practice engagement in the Mekong region.

August 15, 2025 · Stuart Ling, Davone Bounphasouk · MRLG · Laos · English · MRLG

Understanding Customary Tenure in Diverse Settings in Myanmar (brief in Burmese)

This publication presents findings from field research in Myanmar's Shan and Karen States and Magway Region, examining how customary tenure (CT) systems are evolving. It highlights how CT, often weakening and influenced by statutory tenure, faces pressure from land individualization. The study advocates strengthening CT for its social legitimacy and potential for more secure land tenure.

August 6, 2025 · Land Core Group (LCG) · MRLG · Myanmar · Burmese · Creative Commons A-NC-SA 4.0 International License

Understanding Customary Tenure in Diverse Settings in Myanmar (Burmese)

This publication presents findings from field research in Myanmar's Shan and Karen States and Magway Region, examining how customary tenure (CT) systems are evolving. It highlights how CT, often weakening and influenced by statutory tenure, faces pressure from land individualization. The study advocates strengthening CT for its social legitimacy and potential for more secure land tenure.

August 6, 2025 · Land Core Group · MRLG · Myanmar · Burmese, English · Creative Commons A-NC-SA 4.0 International License

Lessons learned from policy engagement for community rights within protected areas of Cambodia

This case study, part of the CapEx series, highlights Cambodia’s efforts to strengthen Indigenous and community land rights within protected areas through policy reform, advocacy, and inclusive forest governance initiatives led by MRLG and the Customary Tenure Alliance.

June 28, 2025 · Natalia Scurrah and Antoine Deligne · MRLG · Cambodia · English · Creative Commons A-NC-SA 4.0 International License

Understanding Customary Tenure in Diverse Settings in Myanmar (Brief)

This publication presents findings from field research in Myanmar's Shan and Karen States and Magway Region, examining how customary tenure (CT) systems are evolving. It highlights how CT, often weakening and influenced by statutory tenure, faces pressure from land individualization. The study advocates strengthening CT for its social legitimacy and potential for more secure land tenure.

June 2, 2025 · Land Core Group · MRLG · Myanmar · English · Creative Commons A-NC-SA 4.0 International License

Understanding Customary Tenure in Diverse Settings in Myanmar

This publication presents findings from field research in Myanmar's Shan and Karen States and Magway Region, examining how customary tenure (CT) systems are evolving. It highlights how CT, often weakening and influenced by statutory tenure, faces pressure from land individualization. The study advocates strengthening CT for its social legitimacy and potential for more secure land tenure.

June 2, 2025 · Land Core Group · MRLG · Myanmar · Burmese, English · Creative Commons A-NC-SA 4.0 International License

Luật Đất đai mới: triển vọng và thách thức cho nông dân sản xuất nhỏ ở Việt Nam

Luật Đất đai 2024 ở Việt Nam giải quyết những hạn chế trong Luật Đất đai 2013 trước đó, nhằm hiện đại hóa quản lý đất đai và thúc đẩy sự công bằng, minh bạch trong các giao dịch đất đai. Luật này cũng mở ra các cơ hội cho những hộ nông dân sản xuất nhỏ thông qua việc cho phép tích tụ và tập trung đất nông nghiệp để sản xuất quy mô lớn hơn, đồng thời cho phép sử dụng đất đa mục đích như kết hợp nông nghiệp với chế biến và dịch vụ. Ngoài ra, luật cũng mở rộng thêm việc công nhận quyền sử dụng đất…

December 16, 2024 · MRLG · MRLG · Vietnam, South-East Asia · Vietnamese · Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0

State of Land in the Mekong Region: Policy Brief 1

Pathways towards sustainable land systems (policy brief 1)

The Mekong Region's agrarian transition has faced challenges in achieving poverty reduction, gender equality, and environmental sustainability. The study points to the need for policies to address these issues to ensure a more inclusive and sustainable future.

September 30, 2024 · Ehrensperger, A., Nanhthavong, V., Beban, A., Gironde, C., Diepart, J.C., Scurrah, N., Nguyen, A.T., Cole, R., Hett, C. and Ingalls, M. · MRLG · Mekong Region · English · Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0

Case Study Comparative Analysis of the Customary Tenure Pilots in Viet Nam: Key processes and lessons learned

Comparative analysis of the customary tenure pilots in Viet Nam: Key processes and lessons learned

The case study "Comparative Analysis of the Customary Tenure Pilots in Viet Nam: Key processes and lessons learned" highlights the importance of customary tenure, value-chain development, and formal rights for sustainable forest governance, recommending national policy support.

September 30, 2024 · Nguyen Quang Tan, Do Anh Tuan, Natalie Y. Campbell and Micah Ingalls · MRLG · Vietnam · English · Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0

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