1) Cambodia granted over 2 million hectares as economic land concessions (ELCs) to 230 companies between 1993-2012, causing numerous land conflicts between ELCs and local communities. 2) In 2012, an order was issued placing a temporary moratorium on new ELCs, canceling ELCs that violated agreements, and reviewing all existing ELCs. 3) The review resulted in the cancellation of 12 ELCs totaling 150,000 hectares under MAFF and 23 ELCs totaling 127,000 hectares under MoE being returned to the state.

1. Process of revision
and cancellation of
ELCs in Cambodia
Chan Sophal
Director, Centre for Policy Studies (CPS)
Presented at Regional Land Forum organized by MRLG
Hanoi, 21-23 June 2016
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2. Background of ELCs in
Cambodia
• Soon after the reopening of the country in 1993 when 60%
of the country was covered by forests, the Royal
Government of Cambodia granted 6.37 million ha of the
total 10.85 million ha as forest concessions to 30
companies, although by 2001, this was reduced to 4.21
million ha (Chan, et al. 2001).
• Soon after the moratorium of log exports in 1997, the
granting of land concessions started and saw 662,496 ha
under 47 concessionaires by 2001 (Chan, et al. 2001).
• Up to 2012, the granting of economic land concessions
(ELCs) by both the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries (MAFF) and Ministry of Environment (MoE) totaled
more than 2 million ha to some 230 companies, according
to many estimates.
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3. ELCs provided by MAFF and MoE
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Source: Diepart (2015)

4. Proposed land use by ELCs
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Source: Diepart (2015)

5. ELCs by nationality of holders
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Source: Diepart (2015)

6. Effects of ELCs
• The Sub-decree on ELCs was only adopted in 2005
following the new Land Law in 2001.
• Despite the legal framework, established procedure
and sound agreements for ELCs, numerous conflicts
between occurred within the ELCs and became a
serious political concern.
• Reasons for such conflicts include i) poor
governance, ii) people’s limited understanding of
legal materials, iii) people’s lack of information
from ELC projects, and iv) ineffective ELC projects
(Srey Vuthy, 2016).
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7. Revision and Cancellation of
ELCs
• In the wake of numerous and unpopular land conflicts
and rising landlessness to more 20% among rural
households, the Royal Government of Cambodia
reinforced the review of ELCs in favour of smallholders
through the Order 01, issued on 7 May 2012.
• Order 01 has one page signed by the Prime Minister of
Cambodia. It has four points:
1. Temporary moratorium on granting ELCs
2. Reinforce all the ELC regulations and leopard-skin policy on
ELCs
3. Cancel the ELCs found guilty of breaching the agreements
4. New ELC applications that received agreement in principle
from government before 7 May 2012 allowed to proceed
according to the legal procedures
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8. Smallholders benefited from Order 01
• A two-page elaboration by the Office of the Council of
Ministers was issued on 26 June 2012 to the Ministry of
Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction
(MLMUPC) to facilitate the implementation of Order 01
issued on 7 May 2012.
1. For the land that is legally ceded by provincial authorities from
forest concessions, ELCs, protected areas, and state land:
1.1. those holding 5 ha or less to receive private ownership
1.2. those holding more than 5 ha to receive private
ownership on only the
land already developed. The rest has to go through the
process of small-scale land concession for 99 years maximum
with the Provincial State Land Management Committee chaired
by Provincial Governor
2. For the people that hold “social land concessions” for less
than 5 years, they can be permitted to receive temporary titles
to social land concessions
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9. The rapid land measurements and titling made about 1 million ha
under private ownership by some 710,000 smallholders.
Source: Diepart (2015)
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10. Results of ELC review
• Inter-Ministerial Committee (MAFF and MoE) was
established and tasked with serious review of ELCs
and to revoke as much as possible.
• For ELCs under MAFF, 122 ELCs, covering 1.3 million ha
were reviewed, 12 ELCs with 150,000 ha were canceled
• For ELCs under MoE, 23 ELCs were cancelled, and 4
downsized, resulting in 127,00 ha back under state land
management. MoE negotiated for 4 ELCs to be
voluntarily returned to government.
• As of June 2016, MAFF is now fully in charge of
ELCs. MoE handed over 73 ELCs to MAFF.
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