Land and Cultural Survival: the Communal Rights of Indigenous

Land and Cultural Survival: The Communal Land Rights Land and Cultural Survival: of Indigenous Peoples in Asia Development in Asia faces a crucial issue: the right of indigenous peoples to build a better life while protecting their ancestral lands and cultural identity. An intimate relationship with land expressed in communal ownership has shaped and sustained these cultures over time. But now, public and private enterprises encroach upon indigenous peoples’ traditional domains, extracting minerals and timber, and building dams and roads. Displaced in the name of progress, indigenous peoples find their identities diminished, their livelihoods gone. Using case studies from Cambodia, India, Malaysia, and the Asia The Communal Land Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Philippines, nine experts examine vulnerabilities and opportunities of indigenous peoples. Debunking the notion of tradition as an obstacle to modernization, they find that those who keep control of their communal lands are the ones most able to adapt. About the Asian Development Bank ADB’s vision is an Asia and Pacific region free of poverty. Its mission is to help its developing member countries substantially reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of their people. Despite the region’s many successes, it remains home to two-thirds of the world’s poor: 1.8 billion people who live on less than $2 a day, with 903 million struggling on less than $1.25 a day. ADB is committed to reducing poverty through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Based in Manila, ADB is owned by 67 members, including 48 from the region. Its main instruments for helping its developing member Land and Cultural Survival countries are policy dialogue, loans, equity investments, guarantees, grants, and technical assistance. The Communal Land Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Asia Edited by Jayantha Perera Asian Development Bank 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550 Metro Manila, Philippines www.adb.org ISBN 978-971-561-801-4 Publication Stock No. BKK090139 Printed in the Philippines indigenous_6X9_w-spine.indd 1 8/26/09 4:26:59 PM Land and Cultural Survival The Communal Land Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Asia Edited by Jayantha Perera 2009 © 2009 Asian Development Bank All rights reserved. Published 2009. Printed in the Philippines. ISBN 978-971-561-801-4 Publication Stock No. BKK090139 Cataloging-In-Publication Data Asian Development Bank. Land and cultural survival: the communal land rights of indigenous peoples in Asia. Mandaluyong City, Philippines: Asian Development Bank, 2009. 1. Indigenous peoples. 2. Communal land. 3. Asia. I. Asian Development Bank. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. By making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area, or by using the term “country” in this document, ADB does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. ADB encourages printing or copying information exclusively for personal and noncommercial use with proper acknowledgment of ADB. Users are restricted from reselling, redistributing, or creating derivative works for commercial purposes without the express, written consent of ADB. Cover photo by Joyce Munsayac. Asian Development Bank 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550 Metro Manila, Philippines Tel +63 2 632 4444 Fax +63 2 636 2444 www.adb.org For orders, contact Department of External Relations Fax +63 2 636 2648 [email protected] In this book, “$” refers to US dollars, unless otherwise stated. Foreword n 1986, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) issued the Staff Instructions on Socio-cultural Impacts of Bank Projects identifying “rights of tribal/ Iethnic minorities, cultural integrity and traditional land use control” as factors affecting the success of development projects. In 1994, ADB revis- ited the Staff Instructions, outlining a broad approach to indigenous peoples issues to ensure that development interventions facilitate informed participation of affected indigenous peoples; foster full respect for their dignity, human rights, and cultural uniqueness; provide them with cultur- ally compatible social and economic benefits; and avoid adverse impacts on them. In 1998, ADB adopted the Policy on Indigenous Peoples, which pays special attention to their customary rights over ancestral lands and territories, the legitimacy of their social and economic institutions, and their right to direct the course of their own development. In 2009, ADB updated the Policy on Indigenous Peoples and integrated it into a comprehensive safeguard policy framework to enhance the rele- vance and effectiveness of its application. In the process, ADB endeavored to reflect on and learn from past experience; respond to changing political and legal contexts; and reflect changing best practices of other multilat- eral financial institutions and of private sector institutions. This book focuses on indigenous peoples and their communal land management. The analyses it contains explore how some Asian countries recognize indigenous peoples’ environmental interests and land rights, and engage them in the development discourse. Collectively, the chapters examine how some Asian countries have introduced laws, regula- tions, and institutional mechanisms to safeguard and promote indigenous interests in areas such as natural resources, communal land management, iv and consultative decision making. These analyses are supported with case studies and timely critical reflections. I thank the contributors to this important book for not only addressing the outcomes of past project experiences but also for providing insights into how the development processes might better accommodate the development needs and aspirations of indigenous peoples. I would like to acknowledge the work of Jayantha Perera in editing the book in his capac- ity as the focal person for the environment, involuntary resettlement, and indigenous peoples safeguards in the South Asia Department. I hope that this work will catalyze further scholarship on indigenous peoples issues. Xianbin Yao Director General Regional and Sustainable Development Department Asian Development Bank Land and Cultural Survival: The Communal Land Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Asia The Communal Land Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Survival: Land and Cultural Acknowledgments n 2004, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) celebrated with indigenous peoples and international development agencies the completion of the I“International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples”. As part of this celebration, ADB organized a workshop to discuss the distinctive relationship between indigenous peoples and their habitat. Ten in-depth case studies were presented and discussed at the workshop held in Manila. This volume contains eight chapters, six of which were selected from the papers presented at the workshop. The other two chapters and the intro- duction were especially written for this book. The contributing authors are people from diverse backgrounds who hold different views regarding indigenous peoples, their development rights, and communal land management as a way of life. Their expertise ranges from anthropology to environmental issues, development studies, public administration, forest management, and development practice. It has been a stimulating intellectual exercise for me to discuss each chapter with its author(s) and to agree on the contents, the analysis of data and information, and the presentation. All contributors took a keen interest in writing their chapters in several drafts following the general theme of the volume, that is, communal land management of indigenous peoples in Asia. As indigenous peoples’ rights, particularly their communal rights over ancestral lands, are becoming part of international law, it is important to share information on such rights and how they are applied in varied sociocultural and political milieus with development practitioners, aca- demics, and the public. It is fascinating to watch how fast indigenous peoples’ interests and rights are being recognized and applied by various countries in Asia and by international development agencies. This book vi has attempted to capture the general trends while examining how indi- vidual countries have accommodated them, particularly with legislative changes. The book does not claim to be an exhaustive treatment of the close relationship between indigenous peoples and their communal land rights in Asia. But it presents diverse aspects of the connections between the state and indigenous peoples and shows how such connections affect their worldview, economic survival, and cultural identity. The views and opin- ions expressed by the contributors reflect their own personal views and convictions; they do not necessarily reflect the views of ADB. Kunio Senga, director general of the South Asia Department of ADB, encouraged and supported this project, and Xianbin Yao, director general of the Regional and Sustainable Development Department, kindly wrote a foreword to the book. I owe an enormous debt to my guru, Professor Scarlett Epstein, who chaired the workshop in Manila where the prelimi- nary drafts were presented and inspired

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