Presentation by Glenn Hunt from the Land Core Group at the ASFN 6th Conference at Inle Lake in June 2015.

1. GLENN HUNT
LAND CORE GROUP
ASFN MEETING
2 JUNE, 2015
Mapping of rotational and
fallow taungya lands in
Chin and Shan States

2. Introduction to mapping
 LCG attempts to pilot communal registration of
shifting cultivation in 4 villages
 2 villages in Northern Shan – Laisho Tsp (CARE)
 2 villages in Northern Chin – Haka Tsp (GRET)
 Communal Registration under farmland law (Article
6 (b))
 Register shifting cultivation management committee
as an association under new 2014 association law

3. Objectives
 Ultimate objective is to protect and preserve
traditional land management systems by
providing security of tenure through legal
mechanisms
 Undertake Process to establish a pilot case of
communal land registration title with the SLRD
 To use the documentation and mapping process as a
means to make recommendations for legislative /
policy change to facilitate communal land titling
an recognition of customary tenure.

4. Steps
 Document and formalize statues of Rotational and
Fallow Taungya Management committee
 Document and formalize Internal Rules and Regulations
for management of the uplands
 Register statues with GAD and apply for registration of
management committee as a community organisation
under association law
 Approach SLRD to register fallow fields under a
communal title as per Article (6)
 The Township Farmland Management Body shall issue the Land Use
Certificate to the following persons or organization with respect to existing
farmland on the day of enforcement date of this law, …
(b) If an organization; Government Department (or) Government Organization (or)
Non Government Organizations (or) Company shall had been right for farming.

5. Assumptions
 That the Association Law and Bylaws will be passed
 That SLRD will be willing to register the village or
shifting cultivators group as a legal entity under the
Associations Law
 That the State level governments would allow the
registration of shifting cultivation fallow lands
despite articles existing in the laws which effectively
outlaw S.C.

6. Constraints
 Present shifting cultivation policy is to cease S.C
 Farmland law by-laws
 116. The central farmland administrative body shall take
effective effort for the cessation of slash and burn
cultivation with introduction of terrace cultivation on the high
land, environment conservation, preservation of watershed area of
the forests and the top soil towards climate .
 Operating under existing regulatory framework-
“fallow” lands to be registered by SLRD as agricultural
lands – hence excluding all forest areas.
 Due to regulatory environment consultant
recommended mapping of fallow areas so as to
included in cadastral map (Cambodian model).
 In hindsight this process proved to be extremely
difficult

7. Results and challenges
 N. Shan State
 Tone Kyine Village
 60 HH
 Total shifting cultivation land area 1595 acres (645 ha)
 Kyaw Tee village
 54 HH
 Total shifting cultivation land area 1246 acres (504 ha)
 N. Chin State
 Chung Chun village –
 350 HH
 Total land area 24,267 acres (9,820 ha)
 Tin Num village –
 100 HH
 Total land area 36,827 acres (14 ,903 ha)
 Extensive follow up required after initial mapping process
 Exercising forest lands and permanent lands proved to be extremely
difficult over large land areas in Chin States

8. Chun Cung Village
• 350 HH
• Village boundary based on
colonial era map from 1936
• Total land area
24,267 ac. (9,820 ha)
• 17 mountain tracts (lopil)
• Total S.C area
21,265 ac. (8,605 ha)

9. Customary Communal Land
Governance in Chun Cung village
 Decision on which lopil to open up is taken in prior year through
village meeting
 Each lopil is subject to complex ancestral claims of private
ownership which operates under the communal system.
 dowry at weddings,
 compensation when resolving disputes,
 gift at child naming ceremonies
 Ancestral claim holders have right to choose to farm their lands in
any given lopil, but only to the extent that their labour can provide
 After any ancestral claims are determined, then the rest of the lands
are distributed through a village lottery system.
 Individual sale and rent of land is prohibited, although village
allowed to lease land to neighbouring village in exchange for pigs
 Converting lopil land to permanent agricultural land (eg. terracing)
must have permission from village – can be built on ancestral claims

10. Mapping Issues in N. Chin State
 High level of complexity
 Complex village boundaries
 Boundaries based on colonial era boundary demarcations not
taking into account new realities (more neighbouring villages
etc)
 Inter village conflicts over boundaries and resources
 Extremely large land areas claimed
 No mechanism to determine “how much land is enough”
 Villagers ideally want to register entire lopils, but extremely
difficult to determine which areas are “fallow” and which are
“forest” – in reality there is a large degree of cross over

13. Thoughts and questions
 A system to register all communal land (including rotational fallow
and forest) would be easier that trying to map fallow lands separate
to forest areas.
 State recognition of communal lands, with villagers able to practice
their own internal systems of land governance.
 How to ensure equitable arrangements in customary tenure systems
– elite capture of land (S.Chin)?
 100 year old Colonial era boundaries are no longer relevant and re-
negotiation is needed. Government authority is needed to resolve
village land boundaries and to reset village boundaries.
 Participatory and inclusive approach to boundary mapping is
essential to resolving boundary conflicts.
 A village tract approach to mapping might help to ensure greater
equity among villages.
 Is there such a thing as “too much land”? How to decide?