resolution of land disputes : a study on appropriate approaches for indigenous communities in Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia

Land conflicts in Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia, have been occurring increasingly since 1996 in indigenous communities. The conflict involves mostly investors and powerful people who log the forest areas where indigenous people normally collect by-products to support their daily lives. Since 2001, many indigenous villages have disappeared, and more and more land is owned by outsiders. Dramatic changes in both cultural practices and livelihoods have occurred in indigenous communities in this province. Conflict has increased intensively despite the government court system and the newly in-place Cadastral Commission (since 2001). The institutions were created as part of a system for solving land issues for the whole country, and they are directly put in place in the indigenous provinces such as Ratanakiri. The research seeks to find out the effectiveness of existing government conflict resolution systems for indigenous communities