(KPL) The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is providing USD 1.4 million for Village Focus International (VFI) to work closely with the Lao National Land Management Authority (NLMA) in Laos, after signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in Vientiane yesterday.
The MOU was signed by Mr Bountry Detvongsone, Director of the NLMA’s Cabinet, and Rick Reece, VFI Director. The signing was witnessed by Mr. Remy Duiven, Deputy Country Director of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
The SDC approved USD 1,412,748 through the VFI to implement a project entitled Right-LINK Lao (Rights-Land, Information, Networking and Knowledge) in Laos.
“To improve stakeholders’ (government, civil society, private sector, local communities with an emphasis on women and children) capacity, knowledge and participation in decision making on land-related issues so that rural communities can exercise their rights to manage the land they use in a sustainable and equitable manner” said Mr. Rick Reece, VFI Director.
The 1st period of the Right-LINK project is aligned to the Government goals of building two-way communication tools as well as improving farmers’ and communities’ access to information on land rights and responsibilities.
Secondly, one of the main areas of focus of the project is to support civil society to work constructively with the government for national socio-economic development. We hope to conduct these and other initiatives at the national as well as local levels, including the establishment of a LINK Resource Centre in Vientiane, and a variety of multi-stakeholder pilot activities in southern Laos in Phase 1, by working with government, NGO, and private sector partners.
The first phase of rights-LINK will run from 2009-2012 with several expected outcomes: Firstly, platforms for improving coordination and communication at different levels will be established to link local level land related issues to higher levels of decision-making. Secondly, local people will have improved their livelihood opportunities, gained access to formation, and will be able to seek legal advice on land rights and responsibilities.
Thirdly, government agencies, civil society and the private sector will be able to address land and natural resource management issues in an equitable and transparent way.
The LINK Resource Centre will provide access to information, displays, referral services, and to also build web-based portal and discussion group on land and natural resource management. Organisations, projects, government agencies, private sector, and even private citizens will be encouraged to use the Centre to launch new material, to disseminate information, engage with other partners, and to create strategies for collaboration.
The Centre, field activities, and appropriate media will also be used so local communities can access knowledge on land and natural resource management, in partnership with a variety of government, non-government, and private sector organisations. Working to strengthen the capacity of provincial and district land management authorities to disseminate materials at the local level is an essential part of the project.
Among other activities, VFI will support key faculties of the National University of Laos (Law, Forestry, etc) to develop teaching materials and curriculum on land rights and environmental issues. Teachers, master and bachelor students will undertake research related to land rights and natural resource management in areas where VFI and its key partners are present.
“The Rights-LINK project will also focus on improving, clarifying and harmonising the implementing mechanisms for the land law, the forestry law and related legal documents.” Mr. Reece continued.
The VFI has been working on land related issues since 2001, starting with basic land-use planning with villages in the southern province of Saravane.
After a series of land related conflicts between local people and investors, the VFI recognised the need for better materials and communication mechanisms on land-related issues, as well as the need to assist in linking problems in the field to the policy level.
KPL Lao News Agency
