Posted
11 Dec 2025
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Thailand
Posted11 Dec 2025
In September 2025, the 4th Mekong Regional Land Forum brought together more than 450 participants in person and online to reflect on the future of land governance in the Mekong region.
Hosted by the Mekong Region Land Governance (MRLG) project – implemented by Land Equity International and GRET – the Forum marked both a culmination of ten years of collaboration and an invitation to chart new trajectories for land, climate, and community resilience across Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.
What emerged over three days was a shared recognition that the Mekong is undergoing profound and uneven transitions. Climate impacts are accelerating, agrarian systems are shifting, Indigenous and local communities continue to face contested resource landscapes, and global markets increasingly shape farmers’ opportunities and risks. Throughout the Forum, participants affirmed that while technical reforms matter, equitable land governance ultimately hinges on relationships, trust, and the ability of diverse actors to learn and act together.
The team was pleased to host H.E. Mr. Pedro Zwahlen (Swiss Ambassador to Cambodia, Laos and Thailand) and Mr. Markus Rimmele (First Secretary, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Thailand), as well as our colleagues from SDC Laos. The MRLG Project could not have been as successful and long-lasting as it was without such strong communication and commitment to the missions of the project from our donors. This 10+ year partnership has been a fruitful one, as remarked by Mr. Zwahlen in his opening address for the Forum.
“More than 40 pieces of legislation have been passed, impacting the lives of over 38 million smallholder farmers, indigenous people and forest-dependent communities … Secure land rights for smallholder farmers are fundamental to food security and rural livelihoods. Participatory land management and community forestry remain key for sustainable development and poverty reduction across the Mekong region.”
The team was pleased to host H.E. Mr. Pedro Zwahlen (Swiss Ambassador to Cambodia, Laos and Thailand), pictured here giving his opening address for the Forum. ©MRLG.
A central message of the Forum was that climate change is not a distant threat but a lived reality, visible in rising temperatures, intensified storms, and eroding biodiversity. Several speakers described climate impacts intertwined with conflict, displacement, and shrinking access to natural resources. As Stony Siang Or Cung (from POINT Myanmar) shared, returning to his village after four years revealed both doubled household numbers due to displacement and stark ecological decline, “I hardly heard the songs of birds.”
Sessions highlighted a growing body of evidence: forests under community tenure remain healthier, more biodiverse, and more resilient to climate shocks. Research presented at the Forum emphasised that secure land and forest rights are critical climate solutions, not only for mitigation through forest protection but also for adaptation, enabling communities to respond to environmental change with confidence.
Yet despite this evidence, and despite being responsible for stewarding vast forest landscapes, many organisations in Asia operate with minimal budgets and staffing. Speakers underscored that closing this financing gap is essential for meeting climate and biodiversity goals. Moreover, climate mechanisms such as REDD+ and Payment for Forest Ecosystem Services can exacerbate inequalities if poorly designed.
Across discussions, a consistent insight emerged: tenure rights are climate rights. Secure rights enable communities to make long-term decisions, negotiate with investors, and claim a fair share of climate finance. Without these foundations, climate interventions risk deepening marginalisation rather than supporting resilience.
Stony Siang Or Cung from POINT Myanmar speaking at the 2025 Mekong Regional Land Forum ©MRLG.
The Forum’s second day focused on the region’s shifting agrifood systems. Agribusiness expansion, global regulations such as the EU Deforestation Regulation, and the push for sustainable supply chains are reshaping opportunities and pressures for smallholders. While investments promise economic development, participants also described how they can generate conflict, dispossession, and debt when safeguards are weak.
Panel discussions on responsible investment illustrated both challenges and promising alternatives. Plantation companies in Laos shared how they have integrated Free, Prior and Informed Consent into their planning and operations, adjusting activities when communities raise concerns. In Vietnam and Laos, coffee cooperatives and producer groups are developing traceability systems and internal control mechanisms to meet emerging market requirements. In Myanmar, rubber producers are adopting environmental and social governance standards to access global buyers, often in turbulent political conditions.
Civil society participants described their roles as “critical friends” to companies – working behind the scenes to strengthen accountability, gender inclusion, and transparency. These examples demonstrated that responsible investment is not only feasible but beneficial when grounded in continuous dialogue, clear rights, and strong community engagement.
But the Forum also shone a light on what happens when agricultural investments go wrong. Farmers from across the region reported opaque contracts, limited legal literacy, weak mediation mechanisms, and long delays in compensation. In some cases, investments advertised as agricultural developments became extractive projects on the ground, while in others, contract farming agreements collapsed under price fluctuations or unclear responsibilities. To safeguard farmers, speakers emphasised the need for stronger negotiation capacities, accessible grievance systems, and regulatory frameworks that prioritise fairness and due diligence.
Sessions on agroecology and food systems called for policies that reward sustainable practices, support cooperatives, and recognise the knowledge of farmers who manage some of the region’s most biodiverse landscapes. As speakers repeatedly noted, food system transformation cannot succeed without land security and farmer participation.
Track A keynote panel from day 1 of the Mekong Regional Land Forum 2025. ©MRLG
A defining feature of the Forum was its reflection on the policy processes that have shaped the Mekong’s land governance landscape over the past decade. Drawing on MRLG’s Capitalisation of Experience (CapEx) study, participants examined how reforms emerge through long-term engagement, evidence sharing, and trust-building rather than linear technical planning.
One lesson was the value of multi-stakeholder alliances. In Laos, the Customary Tenure Alliance has helped government agencies, civil society, and academia co-develop guidelines now underpinning large-scale forest tenure reforms. In Vietnam, informal networks have amplified the voices of farmers and women’s groups in national policy dialogues. In Cambodia, collaborative work in conservation areas has shifted perceptions of Indigenous tenure from a threat to a legitimate and vital governance system.
A second insight was that research influences policy most effectively when it is participatory. As one speaker noted, reports alone rarely change policy; engagement does.
A third lesson related to narratives: shifting public discourse from “large-scale land acquisition” to “responsible agricultural investment” opened new space for dialogue, while introducing the ASEAN Guidelines on Customary Tenure and Responsible Agricultural Investment created regional legitimacy for national reforms.
Through these reflections, participants affirmed that policy reform is as much political as technical. It requires patience, flexibility, and deep understanding of local and regional political economies. The complexity of this terrain underscores why the Mekong’s reform processes depend on long-term partnerships and mutual respect.
On day 3 of the conference, Kate Rickersey and Le Thuy gave a recap of the previous day’s key themes. ©MRLG
Throughout the Forum, participants stressed that equitable land governance must address not only laws and policies but also social norms and power relations. Sessions on gender highlighted that while many countries have progressive frameworks, rural women often lack meaningful influence in land-related decisions. Women take responsibility for managing land and natural resources, yet exclusion from governance structures persists. Panellists called for transformative approaches that recognise intersectionality, expand women’s leadership, and engage men as allies.
The Forum also uplifted the perspectives of Indigenous Peoples, forest-dependent communities, and farmers. Representatives from Myanmar spoke about working under severe political constraints, emphasising how communities continue to protect land and forests despite risk. Phonpaseuth Phaphou Ngeun (from the Lao Farmers Association), speaking on behalf of over 200 member groups in Laos, reminded participants that without clear rights and accessible information, farmers cannot negotiate fairly or benefit from investments: “If we want to act on climate change, biodiversity, and sustainable agriculture, we must begin with protecting the tenure rights of farmers.”
A photo exhibition and cocktail reception was hosted to announce the winners of the 2025 MRLG Photo Competition. ©MRLG You can see the winning entries here.
As the Forum drew to a close, speakers from government, civil society, and donor organisations reflected on the value of cross-country dialogue. Lao and Vietnamese officials emphasised the importance of transparency, accountable implementation, and citizen participation. Civil society leaders from Myanmar and Laos spoke about how regional exchanges sustain solidarity and learning even in difficult contexts.
Development partners acknowledged the decade-long impact of MRLG, noting that more than 40 laws and regulations have been influenced and millions of smallholders and Indigenous Peoples have benefited. The announcement of the new Mekong Land Initiative signalled a renewed commitment to strengthening customary tenure recognition, promoting responsible investment, and supporting alignment with ASEAN principles.
The Forum demonstrated that while the Mekong faces significant challenges, it also holds a vibrant, interconnected community dedicated to just and inclusive land governance. Across all panels and conversations, a consistent message emerged: secure land rights, equitable partnerships, and community leadership are the foundations of climate resilience, sustainable food systems, and rural dignity.
In the words of one participant from Myanmar, shared on the Forum’s second morning: “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start now and make a new beginning.” For the Mekong region, that new beginning is already in motion.
Building on previous successful partnerships, we worked with the Land Portal Foundation to bring this event to a global online audience. The Land Portal have built a great knowledge base of session summaries, recordings and exclusive articles with attendees from the event, including an interview with our very own Kate Rickersey where she reflects on her 20+ years working on the MRLG project.
You can view a gallery of photos from the event here.
Header image: Group Photo of MRLG team at the Mekong Regional Land Forum 2025. Left to right: Leonard Reyes, Sophea Pheap, Naia Webb, Khammanee Oudomdeth, Antoine Deligne, Natalie Campbell, Micah Ingalls, Brooke Bush, Le Thuy, Huynh Thi Diem Thuy, Samnang Heng, Yee Yee Mon, Phaphone Phomvongsa, Manilay Thipahalansy, Sengthong Soukhathammavong, Annette Schramm. ©MRLG
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