Cambodia

Green Equity Asia, a special initiative of the East-West Management Institute, Inc., works at the intersection of private equity investment, natural resources conservation and community empowerment in the dynamic growth economies of Asia. Our initial priority is the Lower Mekong sub-region, a region of breathtaking biodiversity, conservation innovation, and mounting investment. In Cambodia, for example, the Ministry of Environment has consolidated the government’s conservation lands – a full 40 percent of Cambodia’s land mass is now under the Ministry’s protected areas system.

Building Foundations of Justice is a two-year, EU-funded projected implemented in partnership by International Bridges to Justice (IBJ), Samreth Law Group (SLG), and the East West Management Institute (EWMI). The project aims to enhance delivery of justice and rule of law in Cambodia, particularly at the local level, by building and strengthening three of the key foundations of an effective justice sector: trained and accountable justice officials, effective legal aid providers, and citizens who are knowledgeable of their rights and responsibilities.

Cambodia has suffered decades of political volatility and civil war, including the devastating violence of the Khmer Rouge period that still scars the country. Over the past 10 years, a measure of stability and economic progress has been achieved, but significant challenges to development still remain: weak government institutions, displaced populations, an increased demand for natural resources, especially land, and a weak civil society.

Through the Safeguarding Cambodian’s Land Rights Program, funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, EWMI worked to help Cambodian citizens secure their rights to land. The project focused on improving individuals' ability to secure title to lands that historically they and their families have occupied. As part of its efforts, EWMI trained and supported a network of grassroots "Party Assistants" to advise and assist citizens in resolving land disputes.

EWMI, supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), provided assistance to the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) in Cambodia to support ADB and international efforts to develop the policy and legal framework to ensure that the Royal Government of Cambodia is in compliance with ADB and World Bank policies on involuntary resettlement. More specifically, EWMI assisted the Government to develop a resettlement policy and prepare a sub decree on compensation, resettlement, and rehabilitation for use when the state takes privately owned or occupied land.