Case Study: Land Allocation Policy the 1993 Land Lawin Vietnam and its Implementation in Thai Nguyen Province
Introduction
In developing countries, land is considered as the most valuable asset, particularly for peasants who work in agricultural sector. Land is a source of life where peasants can grow corn, wheat and paddy. After few months of production, the crops yield can support their life until the next harvest time. Based on a study conducted by Rozenzwig and Wolpin (1993) in India, land and animals (such as bullocks), stocks of food grain, capital goods (such as pump sets) are buffer stocks for peasants.
According to the function of land and its value, it is a source of power. Therefore, land remains a major cause of conflicts and problems. Merlet (2007) argued that there are three main types of land issues, firstly it is related to a very unequal distribution of land, leading to the implementation of agrarian reforms; secondly it is linked to insecure access to land or resources, and then it is correlated to social and ethnic groups’ claims for the right to exercise power over a territory.
In Vietnam, particularly after the economic reformation in 1986, the government created a land policy which is the “1993 Land Law”. It stated that land belongs to the state would be distributed to peasants for cultivation in correspondence with the number of people in each household for a period of 20 years for annual corps and 50 years for perennial corps. Dao The Tuan (2002) argued that 1993 Land Law faced problems of implementation. After this policy was launched, some disputes appeared. The people faced conflict which caused by claiming of ancestral land and then conflict also raised in between the local community and immigrant.
This paper aims to elaborate the land allocation policy “1993 Land Law” in Vietnam by taking the case study of Thai Nguyen Province and then to find which type of juridical pluralism matches to this case. First, it will highlight the history of land allocation policy in Vietnam. Second, it will examine the local respond of the Thai Nguyen Province in the South of Vietnam towards this policy. Then, there comes an analysis of the theory of juridical pluralism towards the case study. Finally, there will be a conclusion.
Historical View of Land Allocation Policy “1993 Land Law” in Vietnam
Vietnam officially declared its independent from French on 2 September 1945. Based on governmental system, Vietnam is divided into two rival states which are North and South. In the past agrarian system before its independent, South of Vietnam and North of Vietnam have different rules of land allocation. In South of Vietnam, the allocation of the land is more equal compared to North of Vietnam where Thai Nguyen Province is located. Dao The Tuan (2002) explained that for example in the North of Vietnam, around half of farmers were without land. Meanwhile in the South of Vietnam, most of the people have the ownership of private land.
In 1945, after the independent, the government decided to distribute more than 250.000 ha the land to the peasants. In 1953, when the war entered into a decisive period, the campaign for an agrarian reform began. All land belonging to landowners was confiscated and equally distributed to peasants. Following this agrarian reform, the government developed policies to support the land allocation to the peasants. In 1981, there was a policy to manage agricultural management called Decree 100. The aim of Decree 100 is to improve the management of agricultural production. Land was given to the household so that they can use it for their own production.
In 1993, then the government legalized the 1993 Land Law. The government issued a certificate verifying the use of land allocation in the long term. Steffanie Scott (2000) argued that this regulation has increased the right of the farmers from the ownership of land to have further rights to be able to transfer, exchange, mortgage, lease and inherit their plots to others.
Local Response towards Land Allocation in Thai Nguyen Province
Thai Nguyen Province is located in the North of Vietnam. According to World Bank, the population in Thai Nguyen Province is 1.2 million people, including many ethnic groups. Regarding to a population survey in 2009, the province had 821,077 ethnic people, representing 26.89% of its total population. In Thai Nguyen Province, there are five major ethnic groups including Kihn or Viet (75%), Tay (10,8%), Nung (5%), San Dieu (3%), San Chay (2,6%), Dao (2,15%), Hoa (0,31%) and Hmong (0,25%). These different ethnics evoke the raising of conflict of land allocation between the local ethnic and immigrant, especially after the Thai Nguyen as the New Economic Zone became a destination for in-migration.
A study conducted by Scott (2000) found that in between January until December 1998 the implementation of land allocation specifically in Thai Nguyen is influenced by local factors. social cultural, historic economic, and agro ecological alike, one intriguing phenomena in much of the midlands and uplands area of Northern Vietnam is de facto for allocation of land following ancestral land rights.
There are two major conflicts caused by the land allocation, first is the claim of the ancestral land by the Tay as majority ethnic in Thai Nguyen. After the allocation, many people still claim their ancestral land and negotiate with the neighbor to get it back. Second, the inequality of allocation, the immigrant as minority ethnic group, such as Kihn, Dao, and Hmong ethnic get less amount of land.
The Tay have been persistent in reclaiming their ancestral land even after the certification of land rights on 1993 issued and the land actually legally belong to the Hmyong. This land located in Yen Ninh and Yen Do are actually just the smallest paddy fields, but ancestral land remains valuable thing for the Tay therefore they became persistent to claim it. The Tay also claimed another land in Kihn Village in Cho Don. In this case, the Kihn can only farm the land because the Tay claimed as the owner of the land which belong to their ancestors.
The land allocation between the owner of ancestral lands and migrants is unequal. Following the official guideline, for example allocation in Kim Son Commune in Dinh Hoa district should be based on household size, which are two sao(360 m2) percapita, however in practice it varies from one to four sao. Migrants usually only received the minimum amount of lands which is one sao, but the Tay can get two sao. There is also a case where the land was being sold unofficially, usually it was bought by the household with little lands. This illegal land trade happened in Dong district in which Kihn had settled in 1960s and 1970s in Nung area. In the end, the ethnic who has been living for long time in the land that they claim as their ancestral land will get more land allocation compare to the immigrant. In this case, the immigrant usually got less paddy land but more slope for other type of land, for example the Dao people who often lives in the valley villages.
The government authority seems toothless to find a solution for these problems. Some immigrants from 1960s and 1970s now losing control over the land decollectivation process, from 1990-1993 some lands in Dihn Hoa District, Bac Kan and Cao Bang in the North of Viet Nam was under dispute. In 1990, a team of experts and officials from Hanoi and Thai Nguyen University discovered that in some disputes area, peasants abandoned their land, no one wants to plant the crops, because they fear it will be allocated to someone else.
The problem has spread into another level such as Dao people allowing their buffalos to graze into the crops of Tai. The Buffalos were being poisoned by relatives who are not happy with the result of land allocation. Scott (1990) concluded this phenomenon of reclaiming ancestral lands is testament to the power of the local to contest or at the very least interpret laws.
An analysis on legal pluralism (Pluralisme Juridique)
Legal pluralism (pluralism juridique) is a central theme in the reconceptualization of the law and society relations. Merlet (2016) examined that legal pluralism put the power in three circles, which are states, community, and family. It is different with the central pluralism where the state has power to control the community and family. Sally Engle Merry (1988) mentioned that in early twentieth century indigenous law ways among tribal and village people in colonized societies in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific.
In Thai Nguyen Province, the phenomena of claiming the ancestral land rights is prominent example on how community put a value according to their historical and cultural background. For local community, the persistent of claiming their ancestral land is not only because their clan has been living there for many years, but also because the land has a valuable cultural history. Especially to the indigenous community, land is sacred, there is special connection between the land and the ancestor, in consequence it cannot be sold, transfer or mortgage. Therefore, the implementation of 1993 Land Law in Viet Nam, particularly in Thai Nguyen Province faces conflict.
The state doesn’t have full control of power to regulate both the society and family group in Thai Nguyen. Local value is challenging for the state to intervene by its law. In this case, the juridical pluralism applied where the power has spread among three different entities which are state, community, and family.
In the end, the land allocation in Vietnam particularly in Thai Nguyen Province remains two challenges in its implementation. First, the land allocation which is based on Decree 100 supported by 1993 Land Law supposed to be implemented nationally, but in practice the implementation varied from one regional to another regional. Secondly, it is not easy for local community to let go their ancestral land due to their history and long settled on that area.
Conclusion
Land and political power are strongly correlated. Having reflection on this case, the power of controlling the land cannot only depend on the state. It is also important to understand the value of the society and family. The peasants put value to the land not only as an economic asset but also it has a sacred value to their family. Therefore, the implementation of the land allocation policy in Thai Nguyen province faced challenges. The government should collaborate with local authority and local community to be able to solve the conflict. Finally, the land policy should be designed to provide the common interest and understanding among the peasants, local residents, and immigrants in Thai Nguyen Province.
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