Directive 01BB in Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia: Issues and Impacts of Private Land Titling in Indigenous Communities

To assess the impact of this new directive and its effects on the relationship between communal land titling and Economic Land Concessions (ELCs) in Ratanakiri, seven NGOs collected information from January to February 2013 from 79 villages; 26 of the villages affected by Directive 01BB. Village chiefs and elders were asked about village demographics, conflicts with companies, and their current stage of Communal Land Titling (CLT) process (if applicable). Seventy-one of 79 villages were working on communal land titling before Directive 01BB was implemented and were in varying stages of the process. Eighteen of the villages had started the communal titling process in 2012, 17 in 2011, three in 2010, three in 2008, 29 in 2007, and one in 1998. None of these villages have yet received a communal title. Forty of the villages have problems with 26 companies, including ELCs, small-scale concessions, and mining concessions. The 01BB process created pressure on villagers in addition to the stress they were already experiencing from companies. The students only stayed in villages for around one month, which was not enough time for villagers to make unified decisions regarding their land registration or resolve disputes with companies. This created divisions in communities and perpetuated on going land disputes.