Background and Objectives

Background

Myanmar is at a historic crossroads that began with the promulgation of a new constitution in 2008 followed by elections in 2010 and 2012. In March 2012, Myanmar’s parliament passed two laws that grant farmers the right to sell/pawn/lease/exchange land whereas before they had only the right to work the land with government permission. With as much as two-thirds of the population relying on agriculture for their livelihoods, the laws will be elemental to efforts to alleviate poverty and promote inclusive and sustainable development in the country.

Access to land and tenure security are key challenges to ensure the country’s food security and overall socio-economic development. As the market economy grows there will be the same pressures on land that have been witnessed in other neighbouring countries. Indeed, land grabbing is an ongoing problem.

Accordingly, clear evidence of rights and appropriate demarcation of privately owned land takes on ever greater importance.

Objectives

The purpose of the Land Administration and Management Programme (LAMP) is to strengthen land administration and management by testing new processes and technologies at rural and urban pilot sites.

Activities

There are 11 activities under 5 outputs in the WBS:

1. First Registration
   • Define the coordinate & mapping systems
   • Update the surveys and the cadastral maps
   • Adjudication & first registration of land rights
2. Subsequent Registration
   • Deed registration & subsequent registration of rights
   • Revise survey partition (sub-division) process
3. Change Management Processes
   • Training Centre strengthened & project staff trained
   • Information, education & communication for project beneficiaries
4. New Application Systems
   • LIS pilot developed & demonstrated
   • Land zoning system (land capability /value) developed
5. Lessons
   • Studies on project topics
   • Evaluation of new processes & results of pilot sites

 Results

Benefits to people in pilot townships:

• Farm land holdings recognized with the issuance of the land use certificate at low cost.
• Information and education of the public on land laws and documents.
• All land holdings shown up to date on accurate maps.
• A modern and fast service for registering changes in land transactions such as inheritance, sale, and mortgage.
• Transparent process for adjudicating disputes on land.

Benefits to Settlements and Land Records Department (SLRD):

• New systems and processes: a new lands registration systems for managing the records related to the issuance of land use certificates and to the transactions on these titles would be developed, together with the processes for computerizing the Cadastral (Kwin) maps and keeping them up to date. These software systems will be handed over to SLRD for future development and replication.

• New technology: modern technology suitable for land administration functions will include: GIS workstations; servers and database management systems; GPS survey receivers and data processing equipment; map size scanners and plotters; document scanners and printers. SLRD will assess the impact on efficiency and reliability of these new technologies.

• Strengthening of the SLRD Training Centre: the full set of equipment for operations at each township will also be provided for the training center so that training courses will be fully compatible with operational systems.

• A long term development plan for land administration across the country: the knowledge and experience in LAMP will prepare the leaders of SLRD together with stakeholders to be able to accelerate the modernization of all SLRD offices across the country.

Development Partners/ Partners

Development Partner: LIFT (Livelihood and Food Security Trust Fund)

Project Partners: Settlements and Land Records Department (SLRD)