PUBLICATION: “Securing the Right to Land: A CSO Overview on Access to Land in Asia”

The Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC), with support from ILC, MISEREOR, and ActionAid International, recently published Securing the Right to Land: A CSO Overview on Access to Land in Asia, an overview of the accomplishments and findings of the Land Watch Asia campaign.

Land Watch Asia (LWA) is a campaign undertaken by a loose coalition of organizations with a view to supporting and advancing the advocacy for access to land in Asia, particularly in the six participating countries, namely: Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Nepal, and the Philippines. LWA campaign ensures that the issues of access to land, agrarian reform, and equitable and sustainable development in rural areas are addressed in national and regional development agendas. It seeks to serve as a monitoring mechanism to assess the status of agrarian reform in the region.

To initiate the campaign, country strategy papers were prepared by LWA with the view of: i) assessing the policy and legal environment on access to land and tenurial security; ii) reviewing past contributions and existing efforts of different sectors (government, private sector, donors, social movements and civil society) in addressing land issues; and iii) identifying opportunities and strategies in effectively addressing existing issues and gaps and in advancing access to land and tenurial security.

This publication contains the regional summary and the abridged versions of the six (6) country papers. The following organizations spearheaded the drafting of the country papers (ILC members indicated in bold): ALRD and SEHD (Bangladesh), STAR Kampuchea and NGO Forum on Cambodia (Cambodia); AVARD, Ekta Parishad, and SARRA (India); KPA, Bina Desa, and AGRA (Indonesia); CSRC, FECOFUN and NFN (Nepal); and ANGOC, PhilDHRRA, AR Now!, PAFID, and SALIGAN (Philippines).

The complete publication and individual country papers can be downloaded here.

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High level delegation from Nepal visits Philippines for a learning tour

On 20 to 24 February 2012, a high level delegation from Nepal, made up of CSO members and government officials, visited the Philippines as part of a learning visit on land reform issues in the country. The delegation included members of the Ministry of Land Reform and Management, including the Hon. Minister Bhim Prasad Gautam, Secretary Dinesh Hari Adhikari, Joint Secretary Krishna Bahadur Raut, and Director General Jeet Bahadur Thapa. ILC Asia partner Community Self-Reliance Centre (CSRC) were also a part of the delegation. The learning tour was supported by ILC and organized in partnership with ANGOC.

During their visit in Manila, the delegation paid a courtesy visit to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), including the Hon. Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes, Undersecretary Gerundio C. Madueño, and Undersecretary Anthony N. Paruñgao. The delegation also participated in a series of meetings with the DAR to share their experiences with land issues in Nepal and to learn about the experiences of CSOs and the government in land reform in the Philippines. This included field visits in the provinces of Cebu and Bohol, in the southern part of the Philippines.

At the end of their visit, members of delegation reported that they were “really impressed” with the land reform program in the Philippines. They noted that inputs from the government and women’s empowerment and equal participation in policy-making are very important, and these points will be shared with other stakeholders and partners back in Nepal.

The delegation also began preparations with ILC for the National Engagement Strategy formulation, set for April 2012.

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