AN ANALYSIS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, NATIONAL LEGISLATION, JUDGEMENTS, AND INSTITUTIONS AS THEY INTERRELATE WITH TERRITORIES AND AREAS CONSERVED BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES REPORT NO. 15 MALAYSIA “Land is the foundation of the lives and cultures of Indigenous peoples all over the world… Without access to and respect for their rights over their lands, territories and natural resources, the survival of Indigenous peoples’ particular distinct cultures is threatened.” Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Report on the Sixth Session 25 May 2007 Authored by: Justine Vaz Published by: Natural Justice in Bangalore and Kalpavriksh in Pune and Delhi Date: September 2012 Cover Photo: Dusun boys wearing traditional rattan baskets (wakid) as they help gather wild vegetables in the forests bordering the Crocker Range Park in Sabah. © Noah Jackson 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1. COUNTRY COMMUNITIES AND ICCAs 1.1 Geography and Government .................................................................................... 6 1.2 Indigenous Communities .......................................................................................... 8 1.2.1 Peninsular Malaysia ............................................................................... 8 1.2.2 Malaysian Borneo ................................................................................. 8 1.3 Drivers of Change & Challenges to Indigenous People .............................................. 9 1.4 Indigenous Territories and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs) in Sabah .............. 11 1.4.1 Establishing a Claim ............................................................................. 12 1.4.2 ICCAs Within the Managed Landscape ................................................. 12 1.6 Initiatives to Document ICCAs ................................................................................ 14 2. LAND, FRESHWATER AND MARINE LAWS & POLICIES .................................................. 16 2.3 Forest..................................................................................................................... 23 2.3.1 Community Participation in Social Forestry Projects ............................ 24 2.3.3 Community Conserved Areas in Forest Reserves .................................. 25 2.4 Freshwater ............................................................................................................. 26 2.4.1 Catchment Management by Remote Communities .............................. 26 2.4.2 Securing Vital Water Resources............................................................ 27 2.4.3 Traditional Systems for Sustaining Freshwater Fisheries ...................... 28 2.5 Riverine and Seashore Reserves ............................................................................. 30 2.6 Islands, Coast and Fisheries .................................................................................... 31 3. PROTECTED AREAS AND ICCAs .................................................................................... 31 3.1 Sabah’s System of Protected Areas......................................................................... 31 IUCN Protected Area category ......................................................................... 32 No. of PAs ........................................................................................................ 32 3.2 Limited Coverage and Connectivity........................................................................ 34 3.3 ICCAs and their Potential Contribution ................................................................... 35 3.3.1 Managed Resource Protected Areas .................................................... 35 3.3.2 Conservation on Alienated Land ........................................................... 35 3.3.3 Community-managed Extensions and Corridors ................................... 36 3.3.4 Water Catchment Protection Areas ...................................................... 36 3.4 ICCAs within Protected Areas Systems.................................................................... 37 3.4.1 Communities within Park Boundaries ................................................... 37 3.4.2 Establishment of Wildlife Sanctuaries and Conservation Areas ............ 37 2 3.5 Sacred and Heritage Natural Sites as a Specific Type of ICCA .................................. 38 3.5.1 Cultural Heritage Enactment (Conservation) 1997 ............................... 39 3.5.2 Native Court Enactment 1992 .............................................................. 40 3.6 Other Protected Area-related Designations ............................................................ 41 4.1 Community Governance ......................................................................................... 41 4.2 Natural Resources & Environment .......................................................................... 42 4.2.1 Conflicts Arising from Resource Exploitation and Development Plans . 42 4.2.2 Issues in Integrated Coordination ........................................................ 42 4.3 Traditional Knowledge, Intangible Heritage & Culture ........................................... 44 4.4 Others Laws and Policies ....................................................................................... 44 5.1 International Conventions .................................................................................... 44 5.2 Infringement of Rights in Sabah and Sarawak ......................................................... 45 5.3 Problems Facing the Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia ........................................... 46 6.1 Taking Cases to the Courts ..................................................................................... 47 6.2 Landmark Decisions from Peninsular Malaysia ...................................................... 47 6.2.1 Defining Rights to Live on the Land: The Adong Kuwau Case ................ 49 6.2.2 Proprietary Rights in and to the Land: the Sagong Tasi Case ................. 50 6.3.1 Claim Over Traditional Territories in Sarawak: Rumah Nor ................... 51 6.4 Recent Perspectives from Sabah ............................................................................ 53 7.1 Sabah’s Commitment to Implementing the CBD .................................................... 56 7.2 Bornean Biodiversity and Ecosystem Conservation Programme ............................. 56 7.3 Addressing the Issues in an Integrated Manner ...................................................... 58 7.5 The Sabah Biodiversity Centre ................................................................................ 59 7.6 Addressing the Issue of State Revenue ................................................................... 60 8. RESISTANCE AND ENGAGEMENT ................................................................................. 61 8.1 Norms in Confronting Issues................................................................................... 61 8.2 Community Education and Empowerment ............................................................. 62 8.3 Assimilating New Forms of Community Engagement .............................................. 62 8.4 Progress in Participation and Planning .................................................................... 63 8.5 Uncertainty in Implementation.............................................................................. 64 9.1 Mainstreaming ICCAs in Government Policies and Processes .................................. 66 9.2 Establishing an Effective Implementation Framework ............................................ 67 9.3 Reducing Negative Impacts of Development and Disincentives to Conservation .... 68 9.4 Create a More Enabling Environment ..................................................................... 69 3 10.1 Community Use Zones and Collaborative Management in Crocker Range Park ..... 70 10.2 Testing the Waters – New Approaches to Working with Communities in Marine Protected Areas............................................................................................................... 75 10.4 Sacred sites on Pulau Banggi, on State Land and within Forest Reserve ................ 83 4 INTRODUCTION Indigenous Territories and Community-Conserved Areas (ICCAs) are increasingly being recognized for their importance in sustaining biodiversity within cultural landscapes occupied by local people with long traditions of natural resource management. As ICCAs are a new concept, they are not generally acknowledged in policies and laws, yet policy provisions that support or tolerate them exist in different national contexts. This legal review provides an overview of the laws and policies of Malaysia pertaining to community governance over resources. It explores the inter-connecting policies and laws governing environment, land, and cultural rights, and the enabling frameworks that may enable communities to assert control over lands and resources. It asks: How do these operate in theory and in practice? Do they advantage or disadvantage local communities? How are enabling provisions strategically utilized by local people? There are also policy provisions intended to safeguard Indigenous people’s rights, yet many serve instead to control and marginalize rather than empower. How do people respond to contravening provisions or operational policies that undermine their resource security? Although general information is provided on Malaysia, this review focuses in greater detail on case studies and analyses for Sabah,