Legal empowerment for local resource control

and is meant to shift the balance of power in favour of local resource users
(Norfolk, 2004).
However, the forestry legislation is at odds with the Land Act on a range of
issues. First, like the Land Act, it vests resource ownership rights with the
state (article 3(a)). Forest resources can be commercially exploited only on
the basis of a “simple permit” (for exploitation of limited size and value,
undertaken by national operators and local communities) or of a
renewable, 50-year concession contract (which is subject to more stringent
requirements, such as the implementation of a management plan; Sitoe et
al, 2003). Like the Land Act, the Forest Act protects the resource use rights of
local communities. However, very importantly, unlike the Land Act, such
use rights are limited to exploitation for subsistence purposes, to the
exclusion of commercial use at any scale (article 9).
Secondly, the Forest Act provides for the participation of local communities
in the management of forest resources. Article 33 enables the state to
delegate forest management powers to local communities, while article 31
establishes “local resource management councils”, in which local
communities as well as the private sector and local governments are
represented, for the purpose of participating in forest management.
In this sense, a disconnection exists between the Land Act, under which
local communities are private entities holding extensive use rights in the
land, and the Forest Act, under which local communities have only
subsistence use rights but are meant to participate in the “management” of
forest resources (Norfolk, 2004; CTC Consulting, 2003). As a result of this
disconnection, even after communities have registered their land, their
control over valuable resources such as timber remains limited. If they want
to undertake economic activities on their own land which involve forest
exploitation and some degree of commercialisation (e.g. sale of fuelwood),
they need to apply for a permit (or a concession). And, government agencies
may issue forest permits or concessions on community-held land to third
parties, provided the landholding community is consulted, and with local
communities maintaining subsistence use rights in the concession area
(article 18 of the Forest Act).
In the other focus countries, the interface between rights over land and
rights over other resources varies substantially, depending on the country
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