Paper short abstract:

The Cambodian case study analyzes the lived experiences of land fragmentation despite titling efforts. Communities adjusted their livelihoods to secure reduced lands in the context of rapid agrarian change, which undermines their land claim as 'custodians of forests' in the legal framework.

Paper long abstract:

Collective land titling aims to safeguards indigenous people and their ways of life by guaranteeing communal access to land. The narrative of land titling often conflates the preservation of indigenous livelihoods with the protection of forests.

Through a case study of indigenous land titling in Cambodia, I analyze the lived experiences of land fragmentation and ongoing struggles for rights to land and forests in a context where large agricultural players have implemented a staggering loss of indigenous land and forests through the expansion of rubber tree plantations. The Cambodian case study reveals that indigenous claimants are kept on the treadmill of titling. To secure reduced lands in the context of rapid agrarian change, communities dynamicly adjusted their livelihood practices and shifted from hill rice to rubber as part of diverse agroforestry systems. This agrarian change occured on indigenous lands while collective title claims were processed. Because the role of indigenous communities as custodians of forests is codified in the Cambodian legal framework by linking their right to indigenous lands and forest resources to so-called traditional uses this dynamic adaptation of livelihoods threatens to undermine their land claim.