Divers Paths to Justice - English - Forest Peoples Programme

Divers Paths to Justice: Legal pluralism and the rights of indigenous peoples inSoutheast Asiamethods/processes. This includes providing water resourcesfor farmers so they have enough for the purposes ofcultivation appropriate to their chosen form of agriculture.”Article 66 states that:“Persons who gather together to become a community,whether that be understood as a local community or traditionalcommunity, have rights to preserve or recover their customaryrights, local knowledge, local arts/culture and to participate inthe management of the natural environment and resourcespromoting biological diversity in a balanced and sustainableway.”Article 67 states that:“Persons/individuals have the right to participate together withthe State and community to conserve/preserve, nurture, takecare of and receive the benefits from natural resources andbiological diversity, and to protect, support and nurture theenvironment in order to have normal livelihoods and survivewithout danger from issues of health, security or poor qualityof life. In this, they should receive the appropriate protection.”In addition to the above mentioned clauses in the Thai Constitution that areof direct relevance to the situation of the Karen in terms of land and modesof livelihood is the Prime Minister’s Office’s Communal Land TitleRegulation, which has already passed in Parliament and awaits signing fromthe royal decree. This regulation will establish communal land titles inforest lands and recognise the collective right of communities to landownership. However, one limitation of this regulation is that the communityland title is only valid for thirty years, although it is renewable. At the sametime, the Royal Forest Department, is contesting this regulation. At the timeof writing, the communal land title committee was in the process ofcarrying out a survey throughout a pilot area.Whilst the overall findings were deemed suitable to the passing of thisregulation, there remains some confusion over rotational farming in termsof the necessary number of cycles of RF and the size of RF land needed foreach period of the year. Further research will be essential in order to raise154