Divers Paths to Justice - English - Forest Peoples Programme

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Divers Paths to Justice: Legal pluralism and the rights of indigenous peoples inSoutheast Asiamanagement and land ownership to establish laws, and not just createpolicy. This does not mean that rich people must give land to the poor, butthat for national development, land allocation should be based on a principleof justice. To give local communities rights to land allocation is animportant mechanism for distributing land in a just and equal manner forsociety.Karen communal land managementThe highlands of Northern Thailand are home to numerous ethnic groupswho live by a diversity of socio-cultural and economic systems.Geographical limitations and ecological conditions have resulted in theseethnic groups practicing a pattern of dry rice cultivation, or “rotationalfarming” in the highland area. The Karen or Pgaz K’Nyau people havepractised such a system of rotational farming based on short periods ofcultivation and long periods of fallow for centuries.In order to understand the communal land management of the Karen, onemust be familiar with the Karen traditional farming system. RotationalFarming (RF) is a cultural and physical integration of forest and agriculture.It is a type of agro-forestry which stresses the connection between theagriculture system and the ecosystem. RF incorporates the dynamics ofmanagement and continuous adaptation required by the ecosystem. Thefields are left fallow, allowing for the regeneration of the soil and land. Thefallow period is a key part of the cycle of farming, promoting rich nutrientsin the soil and balancing the quality and availability of land, water andforest to provide for a sustainable system of agriculture. The cycle aids theregeneration of fauna, flora and consequent biodiversity, conserving bothanimals and plants. Without a thorough understanding of the localecosystem and cultural systems, it is difficult to suggest practical ways ofinvesting in traditional land management which fit well with the localconditions and people’s ways of living.Karen traditional knowledge and practices are embodied in their poem “Aufbaf auf baf dau hif, Saf wi saf wi dau hif”, meaning “if there is food enoughto eat, the whole village will eat together. If there is lack of food to eat, thewhole community will go hungry together”. The key concept here is that all143
Divers Paths to Justice: Legal pluralism and the rights of indigenous peoples inSoutheast Asiaproduce is to be equally shared among all members of the group. Thisconcept resonates with and directly supports the communal landmanagement of the Karen as the basis of their daily livelihoods. Wheresome individuals face a lack of produce resulting from a poor harvest orpoor soil conditions, other members of the community will provide themwith these resources in order to re-establish a balance of distributed suppliesacross the group. Labour and produce are also supplied by the communityto orphans and widows in lack of both.This communitarian principle also underlies the way the Karen make use ofand control fire. Setting fire to one area will inevitably impact upon otheradjacent areas, including fallow lands. Every decision regarding where andwhen fires are lit is understood as having an impact on the whole villagewhich shares out the land equally among its inhabitants, and therefore mustbe taken with consideration for its sustainability in terms of the entirecommunity. The Karen strongly believe that all resources belong to thecollectivity. However, this traditional concept is now becoming eroded inmany places, particularly when young people come under the influence offoreign private ownership or governmental policies regarding individualrights.In considering communal land management, it is important to understandthat rights to land guardianship are not based on the same assumptions asthose of land ownership. From the findings of this study, it appears thatcommunal land management is organised in such a way that the selection ofland and how it is used is determined by community members duringparticipatory meetings, which rely on a traditional, rights-based approach.This rights-based approach can be divided into three levels: usability(usufruct), management and guardianship. This is not based on land usebeing limited to individual ownership but rather on giving wholecommunities rights of access to land, which is particularly beneficial topoorer members of the group.State interference can damage or destroy the flexibility of the traditionalrights-based systems of indigenous peoples. When the State limits or deniescommunal land rights, communities become weak, losing their land topeople with power and influence. Their level of debt increases and their144
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Divers Paths to Justice - English - Forest Peoples Programme

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