Understanding Customary Tenure in Diverse Settings in Myanmar (Brief)

There is a risk that the legal mechanisms developed in Myanmar to recognize and protect customary tenure (CT) systems assume these systems to be more resistant to changes than they are. Land Core Group, Ethic Women, Thanlwin Thitsar, and Green Network conducted field research in six villages in Shan and Karen States and Magway Region to understand how CT systems are changing, how they function alongside statutory tenure, and how individual land rights are managed. The study shows that many of these CT systems, as community-based systems, are weakening. In most areas, CT and statutory tenure coexist and influence each other. CT systems are under pressure from processes of land individualization. Individual land registration and land sales to outsiders under the statutory system have led to a reduced commitment to community institutions. Since CT systems may offer greater social legitimacy, efficiency, and equity, communities may be interested not only in protecting them, but also in strengthening them to better secure land tenure.