Customary tenure systems are “living institutions,” researcher Mike Dwyer said at the Mekong Region Customary Tenure Workshop held in Myanmar this month. “They are capable of dealing with modern times and questions of development and conservation, rather than being simply locked in the past.”

This was a key message at the meeting, which sought to build a common understanding of customary tenure and promote its recognition in the Mekong Region. Participants included government officers, NGO workers, academics and private investors, mainly from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam, with guest speakers from India and the Philippines.

The group reflected on the various ways countries and groups are pursuing recognition of customary tenure. “The workshop opened people’s eyes to the challenges of blending traditional land governance with state land administration and economic development goals,” said Natalia Scurrah of the Mekong Region Land Governance project.

Read more on the Mekong Region Land Governance website here.