The democratic transition of power in Myanmar, following the handover of power to the National League for Democracy (NLD) administration, is still in its infancy and yet faces serious challenges. The absence of land tenure security is a significant issue facing rural communities throughout the country, a situation that has led to weak agricultural development, heightened rates of rural poverty, and, in the worse cases, the dispossession of land resources previously accessed by entire communities. The USAID-funded Land Tenure Project has supported the development of a National Land Use Policy (NLUP) and has been evaluating the implementation of articles of the NLUP at a series of pilot sites throughout the country. Community-led participatory mapping of different land resources have been undertaken in coordination with local authorities, local civil society, and the communities themselves. The technical approaches developed as part of this work will be shared as will the outputs and lessons learnt from these activities that will inform the development of a new National Land Law that will recognize the land rights of communities, ethnic minorities, and women.
Key Words: Grassroots, Land Tenure Security, National Land Use Policy, Participatory Mapping