Land Registration and Administrative Reform in Southeast Asian States: Progress and

Abstract

An aspect of good governance is an effective system of land administration. A central component of this is the comprehensive registration of rural property title by the state to create more secure and legally protected tenure for farmers and cultivators. In response to the need for comprehensive land titling in rural areas in most states of Southeast Asia, major reform programs have been implemented to this end in recent years. However, constraints have been encountered, resulting in only variable progress in achieving comprehensive registration, especially of small land holdings. These constraints will be examined in the article in relation to both individual and communal tenure. Also considered will be institutional constraints that have impeded registration. In conclusion the article will explain the impediments in title registration in relation to three sets of factors: poor standards of governance, receptivity of traditional communities to title registration and policy capture of title registration by business and bureaucratic elites.