tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/land-rights-57/articles
land rights – The Conversation
2023-10-24T19:28:29Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/216257
2023-10-24T19:28:29Z
2023-10-24T19:28:29Z
TCUS senior editor Kalpana Jain explores Indigenous communities in Indonesia − and learns about their struggles to reclaim land
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555475/original/file-20231024-19-ahdx0d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Traditional grain houses inside a village chief's residential complex in West Java, Indonesia.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2023/1010/Why-protecting-Indonesia-s-Indigenous-land-is-a-balancing-act">Kalpana Jain</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/team">Kalpana Jain</a>, senior religion and ethics editor at The Conversation, spent part of 2023 on a trip spanning over 20,000 miles, covering seven cities in three countries, as an <a href="https://www.eastwestcenter.org/professional-development/seminars-journalism/senior-journalists-seminar">East-West Center 2023 Senior Journalists Fellow</a> to pursue issues around the role of religion and identity in the public sphere. On this trip, which included traveling near the border of Myanmar, Jain interviewed representatives from Indigenous communities, minority faith groups, journalists and activists, among many others. She reported on the rise in <a href="https://religionnews.com/2023/07/17/in-thailand-socially-engaged-buddhism-goes-beyond-meditation-to-seek-justice/">Buddhist </a>and <a href="https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/responses/in-modi-s-india-press-freedom-is-curbed-and-journalists-are-under-threat-for-doing-their-jobs">Hindu nationalism</a> as well as the role of faith groups in promoting peace and care for the environment.</em></p>
<p><em>A 2009 Nieman Fellow at Harvard, Jain pursued many social justice issues as a journalist at The Times of India. Her reporting in India led to many policy changes in the public health sector and won several awards. In 2019, she received a Pulitzer grant to pursue issues around rising Hindu nationalism in India. Jain has also worked as an editor, writer and researcher at Harvard University. Her case study on modern-day slavery is part of a Harvard course, and her book on the AIDS epidemic in India is taught at many Indian universities. She holds a master’s in theological studies from Harvard Divinity School and a master’s in public administration from Harvard Kennedy School.</em></p>
<p><em>The piece below on the Indigenous community in Indonesia, first <a href="https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2023/1010/Why-protecting-Indonesia-s-Indigenous-land-is-a-balancing-act">published in the Christian Science Monitor</a> on Oct. 10, 2023, shows the depth of expertise on The Conversation team on global issues involving religion, ethics and the impact of colonialism in today’s world. The Conversation is very proud to share it.</em></p>
<p><strong>CISUNGSANG VILLAGE, INDONESIA:</strong> Once isolated from the rest of the world, the Kasepuhan Cisungsang – an Indigenous community in Indonesia – has been inviting outsiders to get a glimpse into their lives.</p>
<p>Their village rests at the foot of Mount Halimun in western Java, a six-hour drive from the bustling megalopolis of Jakarta. When visitors arrive, a band of musicians dressed in flowing black robes and colorful headdresses greet them by playing the angklung, a traditional bamboo instrument, while young girls dance. The guests are shepherded into a spacious hut where a Kasepuhan Cisungsang representative explains that the community is led by the abah, or father, and that they’ve lived in this forested area since before Dutch colonization.</p>
<p>“Our ancestors have left us a message to protect and defend the environment,” says Raden Angga Kusuma, the abah’s eldest son and crown prince of the village. </p>
<p>Indonesia is home to an estimated 50 million to 70 million Indigenous individuals, or nearly 20% of the country’s population. However, Indigenous communities’ claims to their homeland are precarious, often hinging on a community’s ability to convince local authorities of their Indigeneity. Add to that pervasive stereotypes about Indigenous communities being anti-development or stuck in the past, and the challenge for many of the archipelago’s Indigenous leaders becomes retaining their traditional culture and customs while also evolving with the times. For the Kasepuhan Cisungsang, opening to visitors is part of that strategic thinking.</p>
<p>Through a translator, Kasepuhan Cisungsang elder Apih Jakar shares another saying from their ancestors: “Cope with the dynamics of time and adapt with it.”</p>
<h2>Battle over land</h2>
<p>For the Kasepuhan Cisungsang and the 56 other Kasepuhan groups living in the Halimun Salak area of Java, the battle for land rights dates back to the 19th century, when Dutch settlers failed to acknowledge the communities living in and around present-day Mount Halimun Salak National Park. The colonizers’ demarcations and land practices persisted after independence in 1945. Under Suharto, Indonesia’s second president, Indigenous land was converted into state forests and redistributed as private concessions to rubber, mining and palm oil companies.</p>
<p>Throughout the Suharto era “the Indonesian government argued that the country had to catch up and needed to achieve higher rates of growth,” says Timo Duile, an anthropologist at the University of Bonn who has spent years researching land rights in Indonesia. “That could be done by cooperation with the West and by opening the country to foreign capital. … Land was an important issue that created a lot of conflicts.” </p>
<p>It wasn’t until 2013 that a historic ruling known as MK35 provided Indigenous people the opportunity to reclaim ancestral land. However, this has proved to be a long and complicated process. </p>
<p>An independent mapping initiative has recorded over 50 million acres of Indigenous land in Indonesia, but only 15% has been recognized by the government. Critics blame the bottleneck on slow bureaucracy, poorly implemented and conflicting forest laws, and corporate land-grabbing.</p>
<p>But the first hurdle many communities face is proving their roots. </p>
<h2>Proving Indigeneity</h2>
<p>A community’s Indigeneity must be recognized by an administrative unit in a province, known as a kabupaten. </p>
<p>A group can qualify if they have markings as an Indigenous people, such as following customary laws and retaining unique social institutions, says Muhammad Arman, director of advocacy for policy, law and human rights at Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara, or the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago. But many kabupatens have ill-defined regulations, and proving Indigeneity can depend on the whims of local politicians. </p>
<p>“If you wear modern clothes, the government can say you have changed socially and culturally and therefore are no longer a member of an Indigenous community,” says Arman.
Legal recognition is also no guarantee that a community’s wishes will be respected. </p>
<p>Mama Rosita Tecuari is one of several leaders from the Namblong Indigenous community in Papua province fighting to defend their land from the expansion of a palm oil plantation. A company got the license and a permit to use the land without any consent from the 500 tribes settled there, says Tecuari. Even after local laws recognized the Namblong community’s right to the land in 2021, the company has not retreated. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A group of five Indonesian men sit on a rug in a sparse but elegant room with a hutch in back. This is a room where they receive visitors. The men are royalty in this Indonesian community" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555483/original/file-20231024-19-hfv2qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555483/original/file-20231024-19-hfv2qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555483/original/file-20231024-19-hfv2qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555483/original/file-20231024-19-hfv2qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555483/original/file-20231024-19-hfv2qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555483/original/file-20231024-19-hfv2qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555483/original/file-20231024-19-hfv2qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Crown Prince Raden Angga Kusuma, far left, sits with other inner circle members on a rug in a room where visitors are received. He says, ‘Our ancestors have left us a message to protect and defend the environment.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2023/1010/Why-protecting-Indonesia-s-Indigenous-land-is-a-balancing-act">Kalpana Jain</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>“It’s not that we don’t want development,” she says, they just don’t want it to come at the expense of the environment. “We in Papua think of forests as our own hearts. If you clear our forests, it is the same as killing us.”</p>
<p>Still, for Indigenous groups to have a shot at local autonomy, they must show that they retain their Indigeneity. “To get land rights, they have to prove continuity between past and present with Indigenous institutions and Indigenous laws,” says Duile. “They can be in a process of change but have to convince officials that they are the same.”</p>
<h2>History of transformation</h2>
<p>That emphasis on continuity means that Indigeneity can get conflated with primitiveness, says scholar Rebakah Daro Minarchek of the University of Washington.</p>
<p>For her 2019 dissertation, Rebakah Daro Minarchek spent years studying how three Kasepuhan communities, including Kasepuhan Cisungsang, were embracing technology.</p>
<p>After the central government brought the internet to Ciptagelar village through a universal connectivity program and built a TV station and a radio station, villagers trained youth to interview elders on traditions and record their musicians. One village leader even turned to YouTube videos to teach himself how to use GPS technology to map land boundaries.</p>
<p>Daro Minarchek also observed Ciptagelar village send two young men to Japan to learn how to do commercial gardening and increase productivity. Many Indigenous communities are hesitant about certain kinds of education that distance youth from the community, she explains, but they don’t look down on education. </p>
<p>In the case of Kasepuhan Cisungsang, the crown prince and a few others have been allowed to go to a university under the condition they will return to their village and their way of life.</p>
<p>In recent years, the village has also invited international visitors to attend an annual harvest festival, known as Seren Taun, a thanksgiving ceremony for all the blessings received during the year. The tradition was captured in a 2016 short documentary called “Harvest Moon Ritual.”</p>
<p>This adaptation isn’t new, Daro Minarchek notes, pointing to the community’s religious practices. The Kasepuhan Cisungsang currently practices Islam but incorporates it with ancestral practices, including shamanic animism, along with Hindu and Buddhist practices.</p>
<p>“To say that this is a community from 700 years ago that hasn’t caught up to the future is dehumanizing,” says Daro Minarchek.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216257/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
The Conversation’s senior religion and ethics editor traveled the world to learn more about Indigenous populations. See one piece of what she discovered.
Kalpana Jain, Senior Religion + Ethics Editor/ Director of the Global Religion Journalism Initiative
Beth Daley, Executive Editor and General Manager
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/205497
2023-06-18T09:02:50Z
2023-06-18T09:02:50Z
Customary land governance holds in Ghana. But times are changing and not for the better
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530362/original/file-20230606-19-ftxq2f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Land ownership disputes are a common feature in Ghana's legal system</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ghana went into colonisation with two broad types of customary land arrangement. In one, a traditional leader was the custodian of the land and gave his followers equitable access to it. In the other, there was no traditional leader. </p>
<p>Colonial administrators then made their mark on the land ownership regime, and since independence change has continued through <a href="https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/gha163491.pdf">national policies</a>. Another influence on land use has been globalisation, which exposes rural land to large-scale transactions and takeovers. Changes in the inheritance system, mainly from matrilineal (through women) to patrilineal (through men), are also a factor. </p>
<p>All these changes have been grafted on to the customary land regime, distorting how it works.</p>
<p>As an <a href="https://gga.org/author/david-anaafo/">academic</a> researching sustainability and pro-poor land policy, I am interested in the rights that come from customary governance of land. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311886.2023.2209366">research</a> I did with colleagues set out to explore the stability of rights in Ghana’s land governance system. We did this through a review of court cases and studies of land rights in Ghana. </p>
<p>We found that traditional leaders – formerly custodians of the land – have become absolute land owners. This is weakening the customary land system. With their new powers, traditional authorities have become a large conduit for transfers of land. </p>
<p>There’s a risk that this will deprive communal users of the land.</p>
<p>We argue that whatever changes are made through policy or regulatory reforms, they should recognise long established and communally held interests in land.</p>
<h2>Stability of customary land rights in Ghana</h2>
<p>Our study established that about 80% of all land in Ghana is under some form of customary governance. The chieftaincy institution itself, which regulates customary land rights, is recognised under Chapter 22 of the <a href="https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Ghana_1996.pdf">constitution</a>. Chiefs are supposed to be guardians of the land. They have the capacity to make rules and to induce or coerce compliance. Their decisions are not always popular. </p>
<p>Land rights take a number of forms. We looked at which ones have been most stable over time.</p>
<p>The right of access is the most basic. Our study found that it was the most stable among the rights available to land users. Customarily, some farmlands cannot be accessed on some days of the week, but the practice is merely an exercise of cultural and religious beliefs. It’s not intended to deprive members of the public from accessing any piece of land. The right to access land should not translate into a right of ownership, as Ghana’s courts have made clear in several rulings (such as Bimpong v Bawuah 1991). </p>
<p>Use or withdrawal rights are the next level. They are the rights to obtain resources from a piece of land. In most Ghanaian communities, some people have rights which are supposed to be perpetual and inheritable. They guarantee unlimited access to family and clan lands for whatever uses, subject only to restrictions from the family or clan head. Other members of the public, until recently, could obtain use rights over land through sharecropping arrangements, grants and rentals. In recent times the commonest ways of gaining access to land for use are rentals and sales. Sharecropping and grants are seldom practised. Rights to use land are under pressure because what was a common resource has become a commodity.</p>
<p>The highest on the hierarchy of rights are the rights to exclude or alienate. Individuals who have private title to land can exclude others from entry, or sell the land to any other person as provided by law. But when it comes to land customarily owned, only the clan and family heads and chiefs can exercise the right to exclude. Some of these individuals are exercising powers akin to ownership and this is resulting in indiscriminate sale of lands. The practice spells danger for future land access and use for other people. Private land owners are also now restricting access.</p>
<p>In sum, we found that access rights remain the most stable. Use and withdrawal rights are under severe stress. Exclusion and alienation rights are very stable because they strengthen chiefs’ authority over land. But they have become a conduit for the widespread sale of land. This has consequences for access, use and management rights.</p>
<h2>Abuse and resilience</h2>
<p>Customary guardians of the land have the support of increasingly liberal policies and laws. These policies seem to be well intended – to reduce double sales of land, improve land investment, and protect private property. But they enable customary holders to alienate the land.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00083968.2017.1303390">Studies</a> have <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X1300082X?via%3Dihub">shown</a> that liberal policies have resulted in a growing tendency of titleholders to abuse their powers. Land is being sold that should be held in trust for members of the landowning group. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2013.03.006">One study</a> found that over 2 million hectares of land had been acquired in Ghana. There are no checks and balances on the exercise of those powers. </p>
<p>As a result, the customary land governance system in rural Ghanaian communities is crumbling. Traditional routes to access and use land are gradually being substituted by cash transactions. The chieftaincy institution has become a convenient conduit for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.04.033">large-scale land transfers</a>, a situation unintended by customary arrangements. It has the potential of depriving customary users of their rights to land in the future. </p>
<p>We argue that Ghana’s customary land governance system has been resilient over the years, as it guarantees access to land for various users. Rather than adopting policies and programmes which seek to liberalise it, Ghana should build on the customary land system to ensure that it responds the needs of the diverse users.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205497/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Anaafo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Reforms to land policies and regulations are enabling the traditional custodians of the land in Ghana to transfer ownership. Communal land users could lose their basic rights.
David Anaafo, Senior Lecturer, Planning and Sustainability, University of Energy and Natural Resources
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/191038
2022-09-29T16:49:14Z
2022-09-29T16:49:14Z
UNDRIP 15 years on: Genuine truth and reconciliation requires legislative reform
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/486666/original/file-20220927-25-7mqf23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C44%2C5892%2C3772&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An Indigenous flag flies in front of Parliament during the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Sept. 30, 2021. To live up to the intentions of UNDRIP, Canada must work with Indigenous communities to change harmful laws.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/undrip-15-years-on--genuine-truth-and-reconciliation-requires-legislative-reform" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>On Sept. 30 Canada marks the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/national-day-truth-reconciliation.html">National Day for Truth and Reconciliation</a> for the second time since the federal government made it a statutory holiday. As Canada struggles to come to terms with colonialism and its ongoing legacies, we must also talk about what needs to be done to bring about meaningful change in the future. </p>
<p>This September also marked the anniversary of the <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples.html/">UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples</a>. Fifteen years ago, the UN General Assembly adopted the declaration that serves as the global minimum standard “for the survival, dignity and well-being” of all Indigenous Peoples. </p>
<p>After <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2007/09/06/canada_ripped_for_opposing_un_declaration.html">initial resistance</a>, Canada is now positioned to be a <a href="https://www.declarationcoalition.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/EMRIP-14th-sess-UN-Decl-on-Rts-of-IPs-Act-Coalition-statement-Jun-23-21-1.pdf">world leader in putting these standards into practice</a>. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, much work still needs to be done to meet the minimum standards of the UN Declaration and to live up to its <a href="https://centre.irpp.org/research-studies/unfinished-business-implementation-of-the-un-declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples-in-canada/">spirit and intent</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OQ3Imsz9U_U?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples | Assembly of First Nations.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Canada’s Declaration Act</h2>
<p>Last year, Parliament <a href="https://www.laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/u-2.2/page-1.html">passed legislation</a> to “provide a framework for the Government of Canada’s implementation of the Declaration.” A key component of the legislation directs the government to work with Indigenous Peoples “to prepare and implement an action plan to achieve the objectives of the Declaration.” </p>
<p>The new Declaration Act states that the action plan must include “measures to address injustices, combat prejudice and eliminate all forms of violence, racism and discrimination, including systemic racism and discrimination” as well as “measures related to monitoring, oversight, recourse or remedy.”</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/reparations-to-indigenous-peoples-are-critical-after-popes-apology-for-residential-schools-187823">Reparations to Indigenous Peoples are critical after Pope's apology for residential schools</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>If done right, the action plan could be a <a href="http://kukukwes.com/2021/05/28/opinion-canadian-implementation-of-the-undrip-would-benefit-all-treaty-people-in-atlantic-canada/">historic opportunity to address the human rights</a> needs of Indigenous Peoples in a concerted way and with solutions identified by Indigenous Peoples themselves. An action plan that is truly comprehensive in scope, developed in genuine partnership with Indigenous Peoples and that holds government accountable would be a momentous step forward.</p>
<h2>Urgent need for law reform</h2>
<p>Critically, however, the action plan is not the only requirement of the Declaration Act. It also requires the federal government to “<a href="https://www.laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/u-2.2/page-1.html#:%7E:text=Measures%20for%20Consistency%20of%20Laws%20and%20Achieving%20the%20Objectives%20of%20the%20Declaration">take all measures necessary to ensure that the laws of Canada are consistent with the Declaration</a>” and do so “in consultation and cooperation with Indigenous peoples.” </p>
<p>This consistency provision of the Declaration Act is every bit as important as the action plan. But with less than a year left to meet the deadline for an action plan, there is concern that urgently needed reforms to laws, policies and regulations are being overshadowed and neglected.</p>
<p>The vast majority of Canada’s laws were written without the participation of Indigenous Peoples and with little regard for their rights. In fact, many laws, such as the <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/i-5/">Indian Act</a>, were specifically designed to dispossess Indigenous Peoples, curtail their rights and criminalize their cultures and traditions. Murray Sinclair, the chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and former senator, has talked about the “<a href="https://openparliament.ca/committees/canadian-heritage/42-1/75/murray-sinclair-10/">war of law</a>” that Canada has waged against Indigenous Peoples.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/486417/original/file-20220926-15030-wmt6uy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman holds a sign during a protest that reads: respect indigenous sovereignty" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/486417/original/file-20220926-15030-wmt6uy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/486417/original/file-20220926-15030-wmt6uy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486417/original/file-20220926-15030-wmt6uy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486417/original/file-20220926-15030-wmt6uy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486417/original/file-20220926-15030-wmt6uy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486417/original/file-20220926-15030-wmt6uy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486417/original/file-20220926-15030-wmt6uy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Canadian governments have waged a ‘war of law’ against Indigenous Peoples.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Earlier this year <a href="https://justice.gc.ca/eng/declaration/report-rapport/2022/p4.html">the government of Canada announced plans</a> to review a number of laws with potentially far-reaching consequences for the rights of Indigenous Peoples. This includes legislation on safe drinking water, how lands are added to First Nations reserves and the language used in a standardized clause (known as a “non-derogation clause”) meant to avoid conflict between federal law and inherent title, rights and treaties. </p>
<h2>Indigenous collaboration essential</h2>
<p>Our immediate concern is not with any of the reforms being discussed, but with the process. Even with the best intentions, poorly designed processes can easily derail legal reform. It is not clear why the federal government chose to prioritize these particular legal issues over others. There is also little clarity on the role that Indigenous Peoples will play in deciding what reforms will be proposed to Parliament.</p>
<p>Additionally, comments from departments and agencies raise serious concerns about how the government understands the consistency requirement. For example, the federal Impact Assessment Agency asserts that the Impact Assessment Act — a critical flashpoint for conflict over use of lands and territories — already aligns with the Declaration and therefore “<a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/impact-assessment-agency/programs/participation-indigenous-peoples/implementing-united-nations-declaration-rights-indigenous-peoples.html">does not need to be changed.</a>” No indication is given about how they reached this conclusion.</p>
<p>The UN Declaration requires that governments only adopt legislative measures impacting the rights of Indigenous Peoples when free, prior and informed consent has been granted. <a href="https://quakerservice.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Backgrounder-on-self-determination-and-FPIC.pdf">These are an essential requirement</a> to ensure the rights of Indigenous Peoples and prevent further human rights violations. </p>
<p>As the Declaration states, meaningful participation and consent are the minimum standards required of all governments. As we mark 15 years of the UN Declaration, the federal government must live up to its principles.</p>
<p><em>Cheryl Knockwood, Chair of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, co-authored this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191038/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sheryl Lightfoot receives funding from SSHRC
Sheryl Lightfoot and Cheryl Knockwood are active with the Canadian Coalition for the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples, <a href="http://www.declarationcoalition.ca">www.declarationcoalition.ca</a></span></em></p>
To fully implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Canada must engage in genuine and inclusive law reform.
Sheryl Lightfoot, Canada Research Chair in Global Indigenous Rights and Politics and Associate Professor in Political Science, Public Policy and Indigenous Studies, University of British Columbia
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/189851
2022-09-29T14:07:24Z
2022-09-29T14:07:24Z
Foreign investment into Nigeria has fallen sharply: rights and freedoms may be one reason
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482945/original/file-20220906-12-e9yk9u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nigeria's economy needs to diversify away from oil. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/workers-rehabilitate-the-new-port-harcourt-refinery-built-news-photo/489227316?adppopup=true">Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Nigeria has always managed to attract foreign direct investment despite its poor economic outlook. This is thanks to its <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/oil/nigeria-oil/">oil reserves</a> and the consumption potential of its <a href="https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/nigeria-population">large population</a>. </p>
<p>But these inflows of foreign investment have been in decline and now seem to have hit a halt. Over the past five years, foreign direct investment in Nigeria has dropped by almost <a href="https://hallmarknews.com/nigerias-fdi-reduced-by-81-in-4-years-nbs/">80%</a>. This partly reflects a broader trend for the region: according to the <a href="https://www.afdb.org/en">African Development Bank</a>, inward investment fell by <a href="https://www.afdb.org/en/documents/african-economic-outlook-2022">almost 24%</a> between 2019 and 2020. Investors around the world <a href="https://fbj.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s43093-022-00129-5">were also cautious</a> about risky markets during the COVID-19 pandemic. </p>
<p>But foreign investment inflows to Nigeria had been falling even before the pandemic. The country’s net inflows based on balance of payments <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/nigeria/publication/nigeria-development-update-ndu">fell</a> from about US$9 billion in 2012 to below US$1 billion in 2018. </p>
<p>So Nigeria’s 80% drop is steeper than the region’s, which suggests that there is another dynamic at play. </p>
<p>Economists have looked at a range of factors that contribute to a drop in foreign direct investment. These include <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304387808000382?casa_token=qvA1bHz29skAAAAA:Y-GOIHAJorqW1PSnNjXOOjjnreYJNI4Efpfv2ZAD-cu9_6VGmzizR0S_qtwrBTmdQzwmazkkDi8">institutional underdevelopment</a>, <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-organization/article/reversal-of-fortunes-democratic-institutions-and-foreign-direct-investment-inflows-to-developing-countries/92316DFB2BC9DE4D88409E8CF0835310">property rights</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969593118305997">country regulations</a>.</p>
<p>In a paper <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15228916.2019.1583975">published in 2020</a>, I explored the role institutions play in determining foreign direct investment flows. I looked specifically at developing country contexts. I looked at three separate categories of institutions: civil and political liberties, freehold property rights and non-freehold (customary) property rights, with particular attention given to the two property rights. </p>
<p>My findings suggest that, in the case of Nigeria, in the short run, institutions have played a role in determining foreign direct investment. I found that the curtailing of land rights, in the form of the right to manage and the right to use, may have contributed to the fall in foreign direct investment inflows. </p>
<p>An example is the <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/nigeria/resolving-farmer-herder-conflicts">herder-farmer conflict</a> which has spread from the northern part of Nigeria to the middle belt. This has impaired the right of farmers to manage their property. A knock-on effect is that potential investors in commercial farming ventures – or otherwise – may become cautious.</p>
<h2>A slow unravelling</h2>
<p>There have been drastic changes in the quality of Nigeria’s institutions over time. This goes as far back as pre-independence. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://archive.gazettes.africa/archive/ng/1978/ng-government-gazette-supplement-dated-1978-03-29-no-14-part-a.pdf">Land Use Act of 1978</a> resulted in a rise in land disputes and litigation. During the 1990s military rule period, it became compulsory to renew certificates of occupancy – the legal documents that prove that a person owns land. The certificates are usually required to occupy the property on a daily basis, to sign a contract to sell it and to close a mortgage on it. </p>
<p>Then in 2018, the government announced plans to implement the Rural Grazing Area settlement programme to deal with conflicts between crop farmers and herders. This led to accusations that the government was grabbing land through the back door. The policy was <a href="https://punchng.com/fg-replaces-controversial-ruga-with-new-scheme-begins-camps-in-six-states/">suspended in 2019</a>. </p>
<p>All these changes had implications for both freehold and customary land rights. But did that in turn affect investment?</p>
<p>The study found no evidence of a long-run relationship between any of the institutional variables and foreign direct investment. Surprisingly, freehold property rights did not play a significant role. Evidence generally points in the direction of secure property rights attracting investment, because multinational companies feel better protected and commercial farmers can make long-term plans. Examples include <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S014759670800022X?casa_token=nYf2DKkaTKwAAAAA:J4QU6oa10jhfsOspPT9Iiope8uFa6FfuQXgoAVVXr88T9-306r33PQ9sjg3zoyFpIMECrxJqvXY">China</a> and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1813-6982.2011.01283.x?casa_token=xKkCoORZtpgAAAAA%3A1Q9wNlLu3XEMFJRt25AQEf-mNLWVhcAocZ_qeRlD9OeSUnhJX-2s9cpTYPGnpvlOROyUtLVIQRH9n4qY">Zimbabwe</a>.</p>
<p>The short-run – an empirical analysis that takes first difference of the data, to extract short-run attributes – evidence was that the relationship between civil and political liberties and foreign direct investment inflows was significant. So was the relationship between non-freehold property rights and foreign direct investment. </p>
<p>While the political institutions effect is expected, the customary (non-freehold) land rights, which is often neglected by policymakers, is surprising. In fact, this had the larger and only significant and positive relation to foreign direct investment.</p>
<p>What this suggests is that foreign direct investment inflows into Nigeria may react to changes in the quality of civil and political liberties, as well as customary property rights.</p>
<p>An even more interesting result was the significant role that the right to manage property played in attracting investment to Nigeria. This shows that while freehold property rights as a whole may not have a significant impact on investment in the immediate term, certain aspects of freehold property rights, such as the right to manage, are still important. </p>
<p>The right to manage property can involve managing tenants or appointing agents to do so. This is an example of how it affects foreign investment perceptions. The herder-farmer conflict may infringe on farmers’ right to manage their land and plan for long-term farming objectives, and potentially in other indirect ways as well.</p>
<h2>Sustaining Nigeria’s economy</h2>
<p>Nigeria has relied on the strength of its natural resources, population size and power as a consumer. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0176268012000481">Natural resources</a> often water the punishment effect of other confounding factors for foreign direct investment drops. These are no longer able to sustain the country. </p>
<p>The curtailing of land rights, in the form of the right to manage and the right to use, may have contributed to the fall in foreign direct investment inflows. </p>
<p>It will not be easy to solve the herder-farmer conflict. But recognising the way it’s linked to investment, and dedicating resources to addressing it, may be the necessary first step. Acknowledging the role of flailing property rights due to herder-farmer conflict, and then signalling political will to take this on, would assuage fears by potential investors.</p>
<p>Economic theory suggests foreign investment inflows should bring about increased productivity, technological innovation and better allocation of resources. All of these should lead to positive structural change in the recipient country. </p>
<p>Diversifying the economy away from oil would protect inflows from global oil price shocks. Nigeria should create an environment attractive to not just oil-targeted investment, but also industries that leverage the size of Nigeria’s population and their consumption potential.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189851/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Fadiran does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
There should be a better long-term strategy for foreign direct investments in Nigeria that’s not tied to its oil reserves.
David Fadiran, Research Fellow, Policy Research in Service and Manufacturing (PRISM), University of Cape Town
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/190869
2022-09-22T19:42:50Z
2022-09-22T19:42:50Z
Saskatchewan stabbing tragedy illustrates ongoing settler colonial violence
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485728/original/file-20220920-9768-v7k3wu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=62%2C287%2C5928%2C2919&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People hold candles at a vigil remembering the victims of a mass stabbing attack in Saskatchewan.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/saskatchewan-stabbing-tragedy-illustrates-ongoing-settler-colonial-violence" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The recent mass killings at <a href="http://www.jamessmithcreenation.com/">James Smith Cree Nation</a> have left many trying to understand what could have led to such a horrific loss of life. As things stand, it is unclear that there was any one motivator behind the violence that <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9133733/saskatchewan-stabbings-james-smith-cree-nation-bury-their-dead/">claimed 11 lives and wounded 18 others</a>. </p>
<p>As scholars of settler colonialism in Saskatchewan (Métis, and non-Indigenous), we have some thoughts about what led to these terrifying events and unimaginable pain that this small community is left to grieve through. </p>
<p><a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9107965/saskatchewan-stabbing-gloria-burns/">Much attention has been placed</a> on the causes of the men’s actions and histories, as well as the victims. However, the story goes much further than any of these individual lives. Ending the story here implies that the problem rests within Indigenous communities. Focusing on decisions made within the criminal justice system implies that this horrific event could have been avoided if a single person had been kept in jail. </p>
<p>Yet the three communities that make up <a href="https://teaching.usask.ca/indigenoussk/import/james_smith_cree_nation.php">James Smith Cree Nation</a> deal with much wider realities. <a href="https://paherald.sk.ca/i-am-so-so-very-sorry-archbishop-of-canterbury-apologizes-for-residential-school-role-at-james-smith-cree-nation/">Members of the bands</a> attended residential schools all around the area, from <a href="https://www2.uregina.ca/education/saskindianresidentialschools/prince-albert-indian-residential-school/">Prince Albert Indian Residential School</a> to <a href="https://www2.uregina.ca/education/saskindianresidentialschools/gordons-indian-residential-school/">Gordon’s Indian Residential School</a> or <a href="https://www2.uregina.ca/education/saskindianresidentialschools/st-barnabas-indian-residential-school-onion-lake/">St. Barnabas Residential School</a> in Onion Lake.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/saskatchewan-stabbings-why-myles-sanderson-was-granted-statutory-release-from-prison-190233">Saskatchewan stabbings: Why Myles Sanderson was granted statutory release from prison</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In 2018-19, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/james-smith-cree-nation-star-orion-diamond-mine-1.4879195">the nation fought a mining development</a> that threatened the land and ceremonial grounds. Chief Okimaw Wally Burns of the James Smith Cree Nation band explained, “the way things stand, everyone else gets the benefits of a mine, while we are left with all the consequences.”</p>
<p>Leaders from the community therefore <a href="https://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/james-smith-cree-nation-wants-to-re-open-diamond-mine-talks-with-province">attempted to balance</a> environmental and cultural concerns with economic benefits for the communities. Looking to innovate and offer opportunities within their community and to their neighbours, they <a href="https://paherald.sk.ca/u-of-s-and-james-smith-cree-nation-work-together-to-advance-radiology/">successfully launched an MRI company</a> through a partnership with the University of Saskatchewan.</p>
<p>And in 2020, the three communities tried to develop their own response to the pandemic, only to be frustrated by <a href="https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2020/12/01/Paternalism-Putting-Indigenous-People-At-Risk/">government agencies standing in their way</a> and asserting control at the cost of the well-being of the community.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485729/original/file-20220920-15266-awunyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A black and white photo of a school building" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485729/original/file-20220920-15266-awunyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485729/original/file-20220920-15266-awunyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485729/original/file-20220920-15266-awunyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485729/original/file-20220920-15266-awunyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485729/original/file-20220920-15266-awunyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485729/original/file-20220920-15266-awunyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485729/original/file-20220920-15266-awunyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Prince Albert Residential School, established in 1947, grew to be the second-largest residential school in Canada. It was closed in 1997.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://collections.irshdc.ubc.ca/index.php/Detail/entities/1174">(Indian Residential School History & Dialogue Centre)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>All these stories are related. Residential schooling, the dangers of resource extraction, the challenges of economic development and government control and paternalism are all part of one system: settler colonialism.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/logging-company-clears-cree-nation-ancestral-trail-without-recourse-154921">Logging company clears Cree Nation ancestral trail without recourse</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The violence of settler colonialism</h2>
<p>Contemporary Saskatchewan is deeply shaped by early settler colonial tactics. The formation of settler communities through road, rail and economic practices is <a href="https://uofrpress.ca/Books/C/Clearing-the-Plains">directly linked</a> to the oppression of Indigenous Peoples. There is <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/canadian-journal-of-political-science-revue-canadienne-de-science-politique/article/from-stonechild-to-social-cohesion-antiracist-challenges-for-saskatchewan/0A89420666875DC7495E656B09143486">deeply rooted racism</a> in the political culture of the province. The ongoing <a href="https://btlbooks.com/book/race-space-and-the-law">settler colonial violence</a> in Saskatchewan, specifically <a href="https://briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/view/naming-the-violence-that-has-taken-our-sisters">gender-based violence</a>, is directly rooted in this <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23531720#metadata_info_tab_contents">history of settlement</a>. </p>
<p>Settler colonialism is characterized by the marginalization <a href="https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Supplementary-Report_Genocide.pdf">and genocide</a> of Indigenous Peoples who are forcefully supplanted by settlers. The state takes the land from Indigenous nations who had until then thrived and governed themselves, and gives it to those who come to settle and occupy the land. These practices foster the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14623520601056240">erasure of Indigenous society</a> and are <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9780230299191">inherently violent</a>.</p>
<p>In Canada, we can see the violence of this erasure in a few key moments in the settlement of the nation. For example, clauses concerning the surrender of Indigenous land <a href="https://uofrpress.ca/Books/N/No-Surrender">were added to treaties</a> after negotiations had concluded. Indigenous peoples were then physically marginalized through <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/aboriginal-reserves">the reserve system</a> or <a href="https://heritagesask.ca/projects/livingheritage/metis-road-allowance-memories">road allowance communities</a>, as the government regulated with the intent to eradicate Indigenous languages and cultures through policy, legislation and residential schools, often at the behest of churches.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485702/original/file-20220920-11051-c12wfn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man hugs a woman." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485702/original/file-20220920-11051-c12wfn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485702/original/file-20220920-11051-c12wfn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485702/original/file-20220920-11051-c12wfn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485702/original/file-20220920-11051-c12wfn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485702/original/file-20220920-11051-c12wfn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=587&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485702/original/file-20220920-11051-c12wfn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=587&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485702/original/file-20220920-11051-c12wfn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=587&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Darryl Burns, brother of victim Gloria Burns, shares an embrace during a Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations event at James Smith Cree Nation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Settler colonial violence in Canada might not be obvious. For example, Canada’s reputation as a peaceful nation is <a href="https://www.ubcpress.ca/unsettling-the-settler-within">built through myth-making</a> based on perceptions of benevolence and saviourism towards Indigenous Peoples and racially marginalized newcomers. </p>
<p>This national myth <a href="https://uofmpress.ca/books/detail/when-the-other-is-me">positions Indigenous cultures as uncivilized</a> and in need of saving through settler colonial benevolence. Above all, Indigenous people are seen as needing to be saved from themselves, whether it’s their own actions, those of their community members or from their cultures.</p>
<h2>A first step away from colonialism</h2>
<p>Violent settler colonialism and deep-seated racism have <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/aboriginal-peoples-in-canada/oclc/1244230475">created the conditions for substandard health, education and social services</a> in Indigenous communities.</p>
<p>These conditions keep Indigenous people in a state where they cannot effectively challenge settler colonialism. They are tethered to the settler colonial project that keeps Indigenous Peoples marginalized socially, physically and economically. </p>
<p>If the root of the problem is the attempt to eliminate people and destroy their capacity to make decisions for themselves, then the solution begins with agency. The principle of self-determination at the heart of the <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples.html">United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples</a> has not yet had an impact on policy in Canada. </p>
<p>Against the enormity of this system, there is only one solution: to listen to the community. </p>
<p>James Smith Cree Nation has been clear about the issue of substance use and the need for direct action through the form of <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/aboriginal-peoples-in-canada/oclc/1244230475">on-reserve addictions supports</a>. It has also asked for better response time from police and, above all, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/first-nations-policing-calls-james-smith-1.6578455">control over its own policing</a>. </p>
<p>Those who are most affected by such far-reaching problems are the best placed to provide the solutions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190869/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
To fully understand what led to the stabbings in James Smith Cree Nation, we need to look at how the legacy of settler colonial violence impacts Indigenous communities.
Emily Grafton, Associate Professor, Politics and International Studies, University of Regina
Jérôme Melançon, Associate professor of Francophone and Intercultural Studies, University of Regina
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/186121
2022-07-14T04:48:48Z
2022-07-14T04:48:48Z
In NSW there have been significant wins for First Nations land rights. But unprocessed claims still outnumber the successes
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474031/original/file-20220714-16-vcph23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1000%2C667&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sydney-nsw-australia-january-26-2021-1906412911">shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For First Nations people, land is the most important aspect of life and well-being. Successful land rights claims for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the result of years of protest and advocacy. </p>
<p>This success led to the creation of land rights Acts across Australia. However, the recent figures of <a href="https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/our-work/reports/facilitating-and-administering-aboriginal-land-claim-processes">unprocessed land claims</a> in New South Wales point to failures in the processes of land rights for Aboriginal communities. </p>
<p>Successful <a href="https://www.aboriginalaffairs.nsw.gov.au/land-rights/land-claims/">land rights claims</a> lead not only to rights to land, but also to the ability to provide <a href="https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-018-3764-8">health</a> and <a href="https://alc.org.au/social-housing/">housing services</a> for Aboriginal communities. When land rights claims are denied or prolonged, First Nations Peoples’ health and well-being can suffer, from not being allowed ownership of their own Country.</p>
<p>In approving land rights for First Nations People, there is potential for economic independence for communities through the establishment of more community-led land councils, with revenue <a href="https://alc.org.au/nswalc-enterprises/">providing</a> for community benefit programs.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/was-new-aboriginal-heritage-act-keeps-mining-interests-ahead-of-the-culture-and-wishes-of-traditional-owners-173239">WA's new Aboriginal Heritage Act keeps mining interests ahead of the culture and wishes of Traditional Owners</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>So what’s happening in NSW?</h2>
<p>In NSW, the creation of land councils across the state led to the successful granting <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/fifty-years-on-from-the-tent-embassy-the-unfinished-business-of-land-rights-in-nsw-20220126-p59r94.html">more than 3,000</a> land rights claims. However, this is just a fraction of the number of unprocessed claims, of which there were reportedly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jul/10/a-national-disgrace-37000-aboriginal-land-claims-left-languishing-by-nsw#:%7E:text=There%20are%2037%2C000%20unresolved%20Aboriginal,a%20form%20of%20institutional%20racism">37,000</a> as of 2020 – many of them having been lodged more than a decade earlier. </p>
<p>The number in 2022 has climbed higher still, and is now <a href="https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/our-work/reports/facilitating-and-administering-aboriginal-land-claim-processes">38,200</a>. </p>
<p>Based on the current rate of approvals, it would not <a href="https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/our-work/reports/facilitating-and-administering-aboriginal-land-claim-processes">be until 2044</a> that these claims would be processed. These claims impact more than <a href="https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/our-work/reports/facilitating-and-administering-aboriginal-land-claim-processes">1.12 million</a> hectares of land. </p>
<p>The auditor-general’s 2022 <a href="https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/our-work/reports/facilitating-and-administering-aboriginal-land-claim-processes">report</a> suggests neither the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet nor the NSW Department of Planning and Environment has the resources needed to process all these land rights claims in a timely manner. </p>
<p>The NSW Department of Planning and Environment may not been meeting its statutory requirement to process claims resulting in ongoing delays. This has resulted in Aboriginal land councils and communities being denied rights to land because their claims remain unprocessed for <a href="https://www.nit.com.au/nsw-government-sees-spike-in-unprocessed-aboriginal-land-claims/">many years</a>. </p>
<p>Without land rights claims being processed, communities may lack access to basic services and economic development as well as being denied their rights to land.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-history-of-destruction-why-the-wa-aboriginal-cultural-heritage-bill-will-not-prevent-another-juukan-gorge-like-disaster-173232">A history of destruction: why the WA Aboriginal cultural heritage bill will not prevent another Juukan Gorge-like disaster</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A history of fighting for our land</h2>
<p>The issue of land rights for First Nations peoples claims stretches back many decades. However, there have been responses from affected communities that have provided positive outcomes.</p>
<p>One example is the <a href="https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/land-rights">Wave Hill strikes</a> in 1966 began as a call for wages and grew into advocacy which demanded the return of land. This land was given back by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in 1972. After the failure of the <a href="https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/land-rights">Gove land rights</a> case, the Whitlam government launched the Woodward Commission to examine how land could be given back to Aboriginal communities. The result was the first <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2016C00111">land rights Act</a> passed by the Fraser government in 1976. This allowed for the purchase of land by the government or granting of Crown lands for claims to be held for Aboriginal communities. </p>
<p>Similar Acts were then passed in the following years, including the <a href="http://www7.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdb/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/alra1983201/">Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW)</a>. Through this Act, land councils were created which could make claims to land as compensation for communities and to promote economic growth. The Act in NSW, however, only allows the claiming of Crown land – that is, unoccupied land held by the state. </p>
<h2>Legislative challenges</h2>
<p>The land claims must refer to land that is not impacted by native title, so it is essential to know the difference between land rights and native title. </p>
<p>Land rights are classified as claims to land made by Aboriginal land councils, whereas native title are claims by Traditional Owners. The establishment of native title was a result of the <a href="https://jade.io/article/67683?at.hl=mabo">Mabo (No. 2)</a> decision and led to the creation of the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00054">Native Title Act 1993</a>. Land rights legislation predates this and can often lead to overlap between land rights and native title claims which can impact various cultural groups’ claims to Country. </p>
<p>Aboriginal land councils are <a href="https://www.aboriginalaffairs.nsw.gov.au/land-rights/nswalc-and-the-lalc-network-to-aboriginal-land-councils-in-nsw/">organisations</a> created by the Act and run by community leaders, whereas Traditional Owners have a traditional claim to land based on ongoing occupation.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-nsw-government-needs-to-stop-prosecuting-aboriginal-fishers-if-it-really-wants-to-close-the-gap-168749">The NSW government needs to stop prosecuting Aboriginal fishers if it really wants to Close the Gap</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Improvements to the land claims process</h2>
<p>However the 2022 report lists <a href="https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/our-work/reports/facilitating-and-administering-aboriginal-land-claim-processes">possible improvements</a> to allow for the processing of land rights claims. These suggestions include improved governance, a ten-year plan, staff education programs and procedural updates to the registrar system.</p>
<p>The NSW Department of Planning and Environment should also have better communication and cooperation with land councils. This would be the greatest improvement to the process ensuring First Nations land councils are able to be heard.</p>
<p>Local Aboriginal Land Councils have described the ongoing failing as a <a href="https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/our-work/reports/facilitating-and-administering-aboriginal-land-claim-processes">lack of transparency</a>. However, there are some positives emerging. </p>
<p>In mid-2020 the NSW Department of Planning and Environment created an Aboriginal Land Strategy Directorate, increased staffing and set targets. This resulted, in the second half of 2021, the granting of <a href="https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/our-work/reports/facilitating-and-administering-aboriginal-land-claim-processes">207 claims</a>, many more than previous years. </p>
<p>In addition, consultation with Aboriginal land councils has resulted in the prioritising of claims. Despite this, many more claims need to be processed. It leads to hope that the latest 2022 auditor-general <a href="https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/our-work/reports/facilitating-and-administering-aboriginal-land-claim-processes">report</a> will lead to more substantial policy reform.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186121/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lydia McGrady does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
In NSW and wider Australia, there is a history of First Nations people fighting for land rights. However, while there have been successes, there are a significant number of unprocessed claims in NSW.
Lydia McGrady, PhD Candidate, University of Technology Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/173239
2021-12-13T01:10:51Z
2021-12-13T01:10:51Z
WA’s new Aboriginal Heritage Act keeps mining interests ahead of the culture and wishes of Traditional Owners
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436500/original/file-20211208-27-1vui7za.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/window-one-western-most-iconic-natural-1641871246">shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Only a year after the 46,000 year-old sacred Aboriginal site Juukan Gorge was destroyed by Rio Tinto, the West Australian Legislative Council in Perth will pass an Aboriginal Heritage Bill that puts the interests of mining companies above the wishes of Traditional Owners.</p>
<p>The Senate inquiry report into the destruction of Juukan Gorge “<a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Northern_Australia/CavesatJuukanGorge/Report">A way forward</a>” called for a new national framework of Aboriginal heritage protection co-designed with Aboriginal people. It recommended the responsibility for Aboriginal heritage to be reverted to the minister for Aboriginal affairs. </p>
<p>The report also called for a review of the Native Title Act 1993 to address inequalities in the negotiating position of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples under the future act regime. The report’s authors were clear future work should recognise the <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples.html">United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples</a>. </p>
<p>This new law ensures mining companies can still apply to damage or destroy Aboriginal sacred sites, the minister for Aboriginal affairs still has the final decision making role to approve the damage or destruction of heritage sites, and non-Aboriginal “proponents” (mining companies and developers), can appeal if the result is not in their favour. Aboriginal groups have no such right of appeal if the ruling is not in their favour. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-history-of-destruction-why-the-wa-aboriginal-cultural-heritage-bill-will-not-prevent-another-juukan-gorge-like-disaster-173232">A history of destruction: why the WA Aboriginal cultural heritage bill will not prevent another Juukan Gorge-like disaster</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Aboriginal land councils ignored</h2>
<p>The ALP majority government led by Premier Mark McGowan disregarded state Aboriginal land councils who expressed the bill was “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-30/wa-growing-calls-to-withdraw-aboriginal-heritage-bill/100661832">unacceptable</a>”.</p>
<p>An emergency request to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Race Discrimination outlining how the law entrenches systemic racial discrimination against Aboriginal Traditional Owners, was also ignored. </p>
<p>Aboriginal land council leaders called for a co-designed process to allow for Traditional Owners to increase protection of heritage sites. This was reflected in an <a href="https://nit.com.au/exclusive-eminent-australians-pen-open-letter-to-the-wa-premier-on-aboriginal-cultural-heritage-bill/">Open Letter of Concern</a> signed by 150 Aboriginal cultural leaders and renowned Australians. This letter pointed out the bill was weighted in favour of mining and economic interests over Aboriginal heritage, and breached United Nations treaty law. </p>
<p>However, Aboriginal Affairs Minister Stephen Dawson argued the bill would give <a href="https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/McGowan/2021/11/New-Bill-to-deliver-better-protection-for-Aboriginal-cultural-heritage.aspx">better protection</a> for Aboriginal heritage and was the right thing for his government to do.</p>
<p>The main concern with the bill is the ongoing role of the minister to grant approval to mining companies and developers to damage and destroy heritage sites. The new act has replaced the old section 18 process which allowed the approval of more than 1,000 permissions by the state to approve the damage or destruction of Aboriginal heritage sites. </p>
<p>Rarely had the minister refused a section 18 application and protected a site. </p>
<p>Since the Aboriginal Heritage Act commenced in 1972, mining companies and developers have always relied on the Aboriginal Heritage Act - and the minister’s final decision making power - to lawfully damage or destroy heritage sites, as Rio Tinto did with Juukan Gorge.</p>
<p>This new act adopts (and misuses) the language of international human rights law. It does this by referencing Indigenous people must be given the opportunity to provide “free, prior and informed consent” to the damage of sites.</p>
<p>However the <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/ipeoples/emrip/pages/emripindex.aspx">United Nations</a> says the test of free, prior and informed consent from Indigenous peoples includes the ability to exercise self determination, including over things which affect their lands. Given Indigenous peoples are not free to say “no” to harm, damage or destruction of their sites, this principle is not met by this bill.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-climate-change-activists-can-learn-from-first-nations-campaigns-against-the-fossil-fuel-industry-165869">What climate change activists can learn from First Nations campaigns against the fossil fuel industry</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The state’s relationship with Aboriginal people</h2>
<p>Western Australia has made few meaningful attempts to respect First Nations people in its constitutional arrangements or systems of governance.</p>
<p>In 2015 the WA parliament, following extensive consultations, amended the state’s constitution to acknowledge Aboriginal people were the traditional custodians.</p>
<p>When he was opposition leader, McGowan said this was a “long overdue […] act of genuine reconciliation designed to reflect the historical reality of Western Australia.” </p>
<p>This act of genuine reconciliation appears to have been forgotten by the McGowan government during the passage of the Aboriginal Heritage Act.</p>
<p>In 2021 soaring iron ore prices led to a huge <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-09/wa-budget-5-point-6-billion-surplus-but-no-border-reopening-date/100438990">$5.6 billion budget surplus</a> – with WA outperforming all other states. A further $2.8 billion was projected for the next financial year and ongoing budget surplus forecast through 2024 -25. </p>
<p>This staggering amount of income from mining underlines the state’s conflict with Aboriginal people who wish to protect significant cultural sites, and might explain why the views of Aboriginal people are not being heard and respected. </p>
<p>Unlike most of Australia, Aboriginal people have never had any land rights legislation in Western Australia. The mining industry’s impact on the state was and continues to be very influential.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-native-title-fails-first-nations-people-are-turning-to-human-rights-law-to-keep-access-to-cultural-sites-169634">When native title fails: First Nations people are turning to human rights law to keep access to cultural sites</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>We have a right to protect and preserve our lands</h2>
<p>In September a group of West Australian First Nations people formally <a href="https://www.edo.org.au/2021/09/10/un-scrutiny-for-wa-cultural-heritage-bill-after-first-nations-referral/">contacted the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination</a> about the urgent action needed to address WA’s new heritage act.</p>
<p>The United Nations Committee on Friday, UN Human Rights Day <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/1893/INT_CERD_ALE_AUS_9504_E.pdf?1639108443"> formally contacted the Australian government</a> highlight the concerns, seek a formal response and request they work with an expert body called the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to remedy the act.</p>
<p>What has happened in our state, to heritage lands and sacred sites, highlights our continued dispossession as peoples without recognised sovereignty and Treaty rights. Our peoples’ human rights are at the whim of a state acting with multinational mining interests in mind. Recent history shows the weakness and hypocrisy of the state’s reconciliation promise and symbolic constitutional recognition.</p>
<p>This reminds Aboriginal people we must continue to demand meaningful structural change and reform, as articulated in the Uluru Statement from the Heart’s claim for “Voice, Treaty and Truth”. </p>
<p>Substantive reforms, not hollow promises, are critical to Australia’s realisation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This includes the urgent need to honour our right to protect and preserve our respective lands, and our ancient heritage and culture.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Correction: this piece originally stated the West Australian First Nations people formally contacted the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this month instead of September.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173239/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hannah McGlade is a member of the United Nations Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues. </span></em></p>
Senate Inquiry report “A way forward” recommended Aboriginal heritage protection be co-designed with Aboriginal people. However WA’s new Aboriginal Heritage Act seems to prioritise mining interests.
Hannah McGlade, Associate professor, Curtin University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/173232
2021-12-07T03:46:15Z
2021-12-07T03:46:15Z
A history of destruction: why the WA Aboriginal cultural heritage bill will not prevent another Juukan Gorge-like disaster
<p>Western Australia’s Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill 2021 is <a href="https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/parliament/bills.nsf/BillProgressPopup?openForm&ParentUNID=F761A1DBBD9832A04825878F001FCB97">set to become law</a>, replacing the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972. The Bill will be read tonight for the third and final time in Western Australia’s state parliament upper house. </p>
<p>It has been <a href="https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/McGowan/2021/11/New-Bill-to-deliver-better-protection-for-Aboriginal-cultural-heritage.aspx">spruiked</a> by the McGowan government as a step forward for the management of heritage in WA in the wake of the 2020 Juukan Gorge disaster. </p>
<p>However <a href="https://nit.com.au/letters-aboriginal-heritage-action-alliance-to-the-united-nations-on-the-aboriginal-cultural-heritage-bill/">many First Nations peoples in WA instead fear</a> it will continue a long tradition of Labor and Liberal WA Aboriginal Affairs ministers signing off on heritage destruction.</p>
<p>The key objection to the new legislation is that a single elected official will have the final say on whether a heritage site can be destroyed for development.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-a-heritage-conservation-problem-can-farming-and-aboriginal-heritage-protection-co-exist-170956">Australia has a heritage conservation problem. Can farming and Aboriginal heritage protection co-exist?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A history of failure to protect Aboriginal heritage</h2>
<p>In the 49 years since the existing Act was created, successive ministers on both sides of politics have proven weak on heritage protection in Western Australia. Almost every minister for Aboriginal affairs, on either side of the political spectrum, has failed to protect Aboriginal heritage. </p>
<p>*<em>Look at the history. *</em></p>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-623" class="tc-infographic" height="400px" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/623/c0f5387e8208292c7b1c338e04029892fd91c254/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-nsw-government-needs-to-stop-prosecuting-aboriginal-fishers-if-it-really-wants-to-close-the-gap-168749">The NSW government needs to stop prosecuting Aboriginal fishers if it really wants to Close the Gap</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How this proposed bill is more of the same</h2>
<p>No matter how important the site, the minister for Aboriginal affairs has rarely rejected a development application. Of 463 mining-related applications to impact sites under section 18 of the Act since 2010, <a href="https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Hansard/hansard.nsf/0/B1A907F91514EE75482585D0000E36B3/$file/C40%20S1%2020200617%20All.pdf">none were rejected</a>. This bill gives little reason to expect change.</p>
<p>Much like the old Aboriginal Heritage Act, the proposed bill allows that when a developer wishes to impact a site despite objections by Aboriginal Traditional Owners or custodians, a government-appointed council overseen by the minister will be the one to make decisions. </p>
<p>However the developer can appeal to the state administrative tribunal over ministerial decisions they don’t like. The Aboriginal custodians for that area will not have an equivalent right of appeal.</p>
<p>There is a convoluted process requiring engagement between Aboriginal people and developers. However, developers will be able to decide when they must talk to Aboriginal parties about possible impact on a cultural heritage site. Aboriginal people will not have the right to prevent such an impact, only the right to be told about it.</p>
<p>Aboriginal parties will have no on-going resourcing to fulfil new responsibilities to manage heritage listings and protect sites. This is a concern for smaller and less resourced groups and sets up obvious conflicts if the developer is to fund all costs for managing heritage on a project, as currently proposed. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-australian-government-must-listen-to-torres-strait-leaders-on-climate-change-171384">Why the Australian government must listen to Torres Strait leaders on climate change</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>We need a better way forward</h2>
<p>All this flies in the face of the findings of the recommendations of the report released in October of the federal inquiry into the Juukan Cave disaster, <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Northern_Australia/CavesatJuukanGorge/Report">A Way Forward</a>. This report called for, among other things, the right for Indigenous people to withhold consent to destruction of an important place.</p>
<p>This <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2018/11/UNDRIP_E_web.pdf">fundamental human right</a> is not a veto against development. Impacting Juukan Gorge <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportjnt/024757/toc_pdf/AWayForward.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf">was not critical</a> to the success of the Brockman 4 mine proposal. A robust business case does not depend on access to a single site.</p>
<p>Where the Bill fails heritage, it <a href="https://acsi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/ACSI-submission-WA-Aboriginal-Cultural-Heritage-Bill-2020-161020.pdf">creates risk</a> for business certainty and undermines “social license” - the support that large businesses need in the community. Last month, ACSI and HESTA, representing major funds commanding hundreds of billions of dollars, <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/investors-call-for-pause-on-wa-aboriginal-heritage-laws-20211119-p59abr#:%7E:text=Investors%20managing%20%24461%20billion%20have,not%20adequately%20protect%20significant%20sites.;%20https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-22/wa-sacred-sites-bill-prevent-juukan-gorge-incidents-investors/100638520">publicised their concerns </a>about investing in WA projects that would be approved under the proposed system. </p>
<p>Aboriginal community support is thin. In October, Aboriginal Affairs Minister Stephen Dawson <a href="https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Hansard/hansard.nsf/0/1551af9a706cd9b64825876f0021be77/$FILE/C41+S1+20211012+p4160b-4160b.pdf">was unable</a> to identify any Aboriginal organisation that supports the bill. Since then, one Aboriginal organisation <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-17/aboriginal-heritage-laws-to-prevent-another-juukan-gorge/100626030">voiced support</a>. Their view must be respected, but this does not represent consensus across affected communities.</p>
<p>A Way Forward sets out better models. For example, in the Northern Territory there is an <a href="https://www.aapant.org.au/about-us/northern-territory-aboriginal-sacred-sites-act">authority board </a>of Aboriginal law men and women who administer the functions of their Act, with practical independence from the NT Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. </p>
<p>To Premier McGowan and Minister Dawson, we say:
If you want to change a history of heritage destruction to a future of heritage protection, Aboriginal people should have an independent right of review for ministerial decisions, and have genuine power to make decisions about heritage sites.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173232/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joe Dortch is a Director of Dortch Cuthbert (a heritage consultancy), and Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia. He is the President of the Australian Archaeological Association and a Full Member of the Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists Incorporated. Both organisations have made submissions to the Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia on the destruction of sites at Juukan Gorge and to the Western Australian Government on the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill. In 2019-2020 he was a Heritage Advisor at Rio Tinto but was not involved with any of the events mentioned in the article, which are documented in public sources. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anne Poelina is affiliated with the following:
Dr Anne Poelina
Managing Director
Madjulla Inc
Adjunct Professor and Senior Research Fellow
Nulungu Institute Research
University of Notre Dame
Chair
Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council
Director
Kimberley Land Council
Member
Aboriginal Water and Environmental Advisory Group
Department of Water and Environmental Regulations
Western Australian Government
Deputy Chair & Member
Committee on Aboriginal Water Interests
Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment
Commonwealth Government
Advisory Committee Member
Institute for Water Futures
Fenner School of Environment & Society
ANU College of Science
The Australian National University
Murray Darling Basin Authority Advisory Committee on Social, Economic and Environmental Science
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jo Thomson is the owner of Thomson Cultural Heritage Management (a heritage consultancy), and PhD candidate at the University of Western Australia. She is a Full Member of and the Chairperson of the Western Australian chapter of the Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists Incorporated (AACAI); is a full international member of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS); and is a member of the Australia ICOMOS Indigenous heritage reference group. Both organizations have made submissions to the WA government on the proposed WA Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill and also to the Joint Standing Committee on Nothern Australia on the destruction of sites at Juukan Gorge. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kado Muir is chair of the National Native Title Council and affiliated with Aboriginal Heritage Action Alliance. Kado once served a term as Specialist Anthropologist with the Aboriginal Cultural Materials Committee.</span></em></p>
Western Australia’s Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill 2021 is set to become law. But the new legislation states one elected official will decide whether heritage sites are destroyed for development.
Joe Dortch, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, The University of Western Australia
Anne Poelina, Adjunct Professor and Senior Research Fellow, University of Notre Dame Australia
Jo Thomson, PhD student, The University of Western Australia
Kado Muir, Chair of National Native Title Council and Ngalia Cultural Leader, Indigenous Knowledge
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/170956
2021-12-01T22:05:07Z
2021-12-01T22:05:07Z
Australia has a heritage conservation problem. Can farming and Aboriginal heritage protection co-exist?
<p>Rio Tinto’s destruction of the 46,000 year old Juukan Gorge rock shelters has led to recommendations by the Parliamentary Inquiry on <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportjnt/024757/toc_pdf/AWayForward.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf">how Australia can better conserve Aboriginal heritage sites</a>. </p>
<p>Around the time the recommendations were made, Queensland’s Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act faced an important test when a pastoralist who cleared 500 hectares of bushland at Kingvale Station in Cape York <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/qld-country-hour/scott-harris-cleared-of-breaching-cultural-heritage-act/13592850">was charged</a> with failing to protect Aboriginal cultural heritage. </p>
<p>The charges were eventually <a href="https://www.northqueenslandregister.com.au/story/7474626/cultural-heritage-charges-against-scott-harris-dismissed/">dismissed</a> but the prosecution, the first of its kind in Queensland, highlights weaknesses in the law.</p>
<p>Like related legislation in other Australian states and territories, Queensland’s law requires landholders to conserve Aboriginal heritage sites or risk prosecution.</p>
<p>But the law has been criticised by many Aboriginal people and heritage specialists for allowing destructive development by removing any ability for government to independently assess how proposed clearing would affect Aboriginal heritage.</p>
<p>Under the “duty of care” provisions in the Act, Aboriginal heritage must be protected even if it is not known to landholders. However, as the Kingvale clearing case heard, if Aboriginal heritage is not known, how can it be shown to have been lost? </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-coastal-waters-are-rich-in-indigenous-cultural-heritage-but-it-remains-hidden-and-under-threat-166564">Australia's coastal waters are rich in Indigenous cultural heritage, but it remains hidden and under threat</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What we learned from the Kingvale clearing case</h2>
<p>In 2013, the former Newman government in Queensland removed protection for the environment by introducing the Vegetation Management Act which enabled clearing of what they deemed as “high value agricultural projects” in Cape York. </p>
<p>The World Wildlife Foundation argued this would see large areas of forest and bushland destroyed. Advocates for the new Act <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2013-05-22/veg-law-pass/4705890">argued</a> primary producers are “acutely aware of their responsibility to care for the environment”.</p>
<p>In opening up new areas of Cape York to clearing, this legislation posed new threats to heritage sites. In this context the landholder of Kingvale decided he did not need to assess cultural heritage when clearing 500 hectares.</p>
<p>At the conclusion of the hearing into this case, Judge Julie Dick of the Cairns District Court instructed the jury to return <a href="https://www.cairnspost.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=CPWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cairnspost.com.au%2Fnews%2Fcairns%2Fcape-york-grazier-cleared-of-criminal-land-clearing-charges%2Fnews-story%2F1d124158e58936a302f1ee5d159ad841&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium">a not-guilty verdict</a>, exonerating the landholder, as the offence could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt. </p>
<p>The landholder’s legal team noted in the media if their defendant had been found guilty, every landholder (including freeholders) who had cleared land, built a fence or firebreak, ploughed a paddock, or built a road or airstrip since 2003 would potentially be guilty of a criminal offence.</p>
<p>The defendant argued the ramifications of the legal case were significant </p>
<blockquote>
<p>for the rest of Queensland […] anyone who mowed a lawn or cut down a tree since 2003 would be automatically liable.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In our view, this is hyperbole. <a href="https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/pdf/inforce/2016-09-27/act-2003-079">Section 21 of the Act</a> makes explicit a person’s right to enjoy the normal and allowed use of their land to the extent they don’t harm Aboriginal heritage. </p>
<p>Further, a person doesn’t commit an offence if they take into account the nature of the activity and the likelihood of it causing harm. Mowing the lawn is quite different to clearing 500 hectares of native vegetation. </p>
<p>The setting of this activity is also important. Kingvale Station is located 100 kilometres west of the national heritage listed Quinkan Country. Heritage studies in similar landscapes across Cape York have identified scarred trees, artefact scatters, stone arrangements and cultural burial places. </p>
<p>Based on our heritage experience across Queensland, it would be surprising not to find Aboriginal heritage sites at Kingvale. </p>
<p>To reduce heritage risks, we assess the potential impacts of an activity, and talk with relevant Aboriginal groups about their sites and heritage values. Archaeologists and anthropologists also develop models to predict where unknown sites are likely to be found. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431020/original/file-20211109-23-aylfq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431020/original/file-20211109-23-aylfq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431020/original/file-20211109-23-aylfq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431020/original/file-20211109-23-aylfq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431020/original/file-20211109-23-aylfq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431020/original/file-20211109-23-aylfq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431020/original/file-20211109-23-aylfq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Recorded archaeological sites across Cape York. The distribution pattern reflects several key heritage surveys. It is expected that cultural sites would be found across the cape, including within the 500 hectares cleared at Kingvale. Image by Kelsey M. Lowe.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Can farming and the conservation of Aboriginal heritage co-exist?</h2>
<p>The best way to conserve heritage is for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians to work together to identify, document, and protect places. An important example is the discovery of human remains from a mortuary tree west of St George, southern Queensland. </p>
<p>The site was discovered during fence clearing by the landholder, who contacted the police. We worked with the landholder who has supported the Kooma nations people to conserve the mortuary tree and enable it to remain on country. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qKJs23hwLXA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Courtesy of Tony Miscamble, NGH Consulting.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A further example from Mithaka Country saw a spectacular stone arrangement discovered by a pastoral station manager, who notified the native title holders. </p>
<p>All are now engaging with researchers to <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=TAWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theaustralian.com.au%2Fnation%2Fstones-point-way-to-indigenous-silk-road%2Fnews-story%2F8318b531d82263beab4afd089fd8d559&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium">investigate the site’s history</a>.</p>
<p>Dozens of other examples around the state illustrate collaborative approaches to heritage conservation. But more effective legislation is urgently needed in response to Kingvale’s failed prosecution.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430631/original/file-20211107-10010-f752su.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430631/original/file-20211107-10010-f752su.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430631/original/file-20211107-10010-f752su.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430631/original/file-20211107-10010-f752su.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430631/original/file-20211107-10010-f752su.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430631/original/file-20211107-10010-f752su.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430631/original/file-20211107-10010-f752su.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A spectacular stone arrangement from Mithaka country. Image courtesy of Lyndon Mechielsen</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How can we improve cultural heritage protection?</h2>
<p>The Juukan Gorge case highlighted how Australia has a problem protecting its Aboriginal cultural heritage. The final report of the parliamentary inquiry into the disaster made several <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportjnt/024757/toc_pdf/AWayForward.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf">recommendations</a> that could help pave a way forward. </p>
<p>Instances like Kingvale emphasise more work needs to be done. The Queensland government needs to act now to address the glaring problem with its heritage legislation. </p>
<p>Heritage management investment will also help. Victoria provides an example of how to improve Aboriginal heritage management. A standout action is the roll-out of a Certificate IV in Aboriginal cultural heritage management, with over 500 Aboriginal graduates to date. </p>
<p>This program is decentralising heritage management and empowering Aboriginal people across Victoria, building a level of professionalism rarely seen in other states. </p>
<p>Establishing treaties and agreements similar to those in Canada and New Zealand could go a long way to enable First Nations people in Australia to authoritatively protect their respective cultural heritage sites. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-wet-tropics-wildlife-is-celebrated-worldwide-its-cultural-heritage-not-so-much-157147">The Wet Tropics' wildlife is celebrated worldwide. Its cultural heritage? Not so much</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Heritage conservation will remain challenging, particularly in resource-rich states like Queensland. But we can do better. </p>
<p>Judge Dick’s ruling, while frustrating for the effort to conserve heritage, is crucial as it highlights weaknesses in the law. </p>
<p>This trial, along with the Juukan Gorge incident, may represent a critical tipping point in the struggle to protect Aboriginal cultural heritage in Queensland and across Australia. </p>
<p><em>The authors wish to thank Jamin Moon for his consultation in the writing of this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170956/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Westaway receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joshua Gorringe is Mithaka Traditional owner and General Manager of Mithaka Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC. Mithaka has received funding from NIAA and QLD Caring for Country Grants. He is affiliated with Mithaka Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kelsey M. Lowe receives funding from University of Queensland Strategic Research Investment.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Martin receives funding from the Australian Research Council. Richard also receives funding from a range of Aboriginal groups across Queensland relating to native title claims and cultural heritage protection.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ross Mitchell Kooma Chairperson currently receives funding from NIAA for IPA Ranger Program Murra Murra and Bendee Downs Station owned by Kooma Traditional Owner association Inc </span></em></p>
How can we improve the management of Queensland’s heritage sites? Can farming and the conservation of Aboriginal heritage co-exist?
Michael Westaway, Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Archaeology, School of Social Science, The University of Queensland
Joshua Gorringe, General Manager Mithaka Aboriginal Corporation, Indigenous Knowledge
Kelsey M. Lowe, Senior Research Fellow, The University of Queensland
Richard Martin, Senior lecturer, The University of Queensland
Ross Mitchell, Common Law holder and director of Kooma Aboriginal Corporation Native Title PBC, Indigenous Knowledge
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/170083
2021-11-03T19:08:50Z
2021-11-03T19:08:50Z
Land, culture, livelihood: what Indigenous people stand to lose from climate ‘solutions’
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429576/original/file-20211101-27-1pcj0jv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=284%2C0%2C3100%2C1984&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the first major deal of the Glasgow climate summit, more than 100 nations have <a href="https://ukcop26.org/glasgow-leaders-declaration-on-forests-and-land-use/">pledged to end</a>, and reverse, deforestation by 2030. As the declaration states, forests store vast amounts of carbon dioxide and are essential to stop global warming beyond 1.5°C this century.</p>
<p>This new pledge is an example of so-called “nature-based solutions” – using ecosystem restoration and protection, better forest management and forest plantations to tackle climate change. <a href="https://www.facetsjournal.com/doi/10.1139/facets-2019-0058">Research suggests</a>, if done appropriately, they could provide 30–40% of the CO₂ reductions required by 2030.</p>
<p>But these approaches should not take away from the need to stop burning fossil fuels. There’s also a glaring omission in the new declaration: no mention of the need for Indigenous people to give our/their prior informed consent, or be the decision makers on our/their own land.</p>
<p>This is significant, because some nature-based solutions can <a href="https://www.forestpeoples.org/sites/default/files/documents/Re-thinking%20nature-based%20solutions_Seeking%20transformative%20change%20through%20culture%20and%20rights_0.pdf">negatively affect</a> Indigenous people around the world. For this reason, more than 250 organisations, networks and movements have signed a <a href="https://greencloud.gn.apc.org/index.php/s/tdLFLakdCoBSi8H">new statement</a> <em>against</em> nature-based solutions, calling them nature-based “dispossessions”, and a scam. </p>
<p>Indigenous people should have a seat at the table in Glasgow, and a voice in decisions about our/their lands. The best pathway forward for Indigenous people is to manage carbon projects themselves. This is true self determination. </p>
<h2>Disrupting livelihood and culture</h2>
<p>Indigenous people manage or have tenure rights over at least <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-018-0100-6">38 million square kilometres in 87 countries</a> on all inhabited continents. This represents over a quarter of the world’s land surface, intersecting about 40% of all land-based protected areas and ecologically intact landscapes. </p>
<p>And yet, disadvantage is still widespread. International carbon policies such as nature-based climate schemes continue to contribute to a variety of poverties.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="girl carries buckets of water from stream" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429571/original/file-20211101-27-141634y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429571/original/file-20211101-27-141634y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429571/original/file-20211101-27-141634y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429571/original/file-20211101-27-141634y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429571/original/file-20211101-27-141634y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429571/original/file-20211101-27-141634y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429571/original/file-20211101-27-141634y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The rights of Indigenous people to their land should be respected.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Examples abound. Take, for instance, the REDD+ program which operates under the auspices of the United Nations. It aims to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, such as through sustainable management of forests to increase carbon stocks. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/7/620">A review</a> in 2018 revealed how REDD+ projects disrupted local peoples’ livelihoods and culture in various ways. The more serious impacts included:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>creating food insecurity by reducing the availability of agricultural land </p></li>
<li><p>loss of land through shifts in land tenure and forest management to outside corporations</p></li>
<li><p>unfair consent processes which do not include all people affected by projects</p></li>
<li><p>the clearing of forest to make way for monoculture plantations with higher carbon storage</p></li>
<li><p>limited formal frameworks to maintain local livelihoods and biodiversity.</p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-pigs-can-smell-man-how-decimation-of-borneos-ancient-rainforests-threatens-hunters-and-the-hunted-166895">'The pigs can smell man': how decimation of Borneo's ancient rainforests threatens hunters and the hunted</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="woman carries slender logs" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429573/original/file-20211101-13-10w70p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429573/original/file-20211101-13-10w70p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429573/original/file-20211101-13-10w70p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429573/original/file-20211101-13-10w70p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429573/original/file-20211101-13-10w70p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429573/original/file-20211101-13-10w70p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429573/original/file-20211101-13-10w70p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nature-based climate schemes often fail to take the views of Indigenous people into account.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Indigenous people must benefit</h2>
<p><a href="https://d5i6is0eze552.cloudfront.net/documents/Publikasjoner/Andre-rapporter/RFN_Falling_short_2021.pdf">Less than 1%</a> of climate finance from developed nations supports Indigenous and local community tenure security and forest management. </p>
<p>But <a href="https://www.facetsjournal.com/doi/10.1139/facets-2019-0058">research suggests</a> securing the rights of Indigenous People to our/their homelands would help conserve more carbon in the territories under our/their control. Land managed by Indigenous people <a href="https://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/1391139/icode/">tends to have</a> lower rates of deforestation and store more carbon than lands managed or owned by non-Indigenous People. </p>
<p>Under a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13280-021-01636-5">best-case scenario</a>, First Nations ownership of land would be recognised under law. Projects should be <a href="https://ecos.csiro.au/finding-win-wins-carbon-offset-schemes-and-indigenous-co-benefits/">designed</a> to acknowledge Indigenous participation and priorities. And the practices should draw on western science and Indigenous science and knowledge.</p>
<p>And when nature-based solutions are proposed, land tenure issues need to be resolved, and Indigenous rights need to be respected. These are the preconditions that lead to benefits for both Indigenous people and the climate. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.abcfoundation.org.au/">Aboriginal Carbon Foundation</a> in Australia is an <a href="https://www.abcfoundation.org.au/land-restoration-fund">excellent example</a> of such a scheme. It involves savanna fire management projects in northern Australia to reduce the frequency and extent of late dry season fires. This results in fewer greenhouse-gas emissions and more carbon stored in dead organic matter. </p>
<p>Core benefits are developed by Traditional Owners and later verified. They include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>improved social ties as community members <a href="https://www.abcfoundation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/CBVF-Explanatory-Note.pdf">work together</a> on projects using a peer-to-peer framework</p></li>
<li><p>elders sharing traditional ecological knowledge with young people</p></li>
<li><p>Indigenous-led land management that protects the environment, rock art and sacred sites</p></li>
<li><p>meaningful employment that aligns with the interests and values of Traditional Owners</p></li>
<li><p>increased pride and self-esteem of Indigenous people.</p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/indigenous-expertise-is-reducing-bushfires-in-northern-australia-its-time-to-consider-similar-approaches-for-other-disasters-155361">Indigenous expertise is reducing bushfires in northern Australia. It's time to consider similar approaches for other disasters</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="ring of fire surrounds tree" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429577/original/file-20211101-13-10j4x3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429577/original/file-20211101-13-10j4x3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429577/original/file-20211101-13-10j4x3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429577/original/file-20211101-13-10j4x3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429577/original/file-20211101-13-10j4x3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429577/original/file-20211101-13-10j4x3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429577/original/file-20211101-13-10j4x3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Savanna fire management projects in northern Australia reduce dry season fires.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The real culprit</h2>
<p>Indigenous people are not just vulnerable to the effects of climate change solutions, they can also be disproportionately affected by climate change itself. <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/content/social_justice/nt_report/ntreport08/pdf/chap5.pdf">Traditional Owners often live</a> on lands directly affected by climate change and can also lack the social and economic infrastructure to ensure <a href="https://www.dymocks.com.au/book/culture-of-inclusion-by-hay-toni-hay-9781483446431">resilience to respond</a> to these changes. </p>
<p>This underscores why Indigenous people should be at the centre of decision-making about climate change and solutions to address it.</p>
<p>Recognition of this need is <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_Full_Report.pdf">slowly</a> <a href="https://unfccc.int/LCIPP#eq-3">growing</a>. But more needs to be done – including enshrining the rights of Indigenous people in Paris Agreement rules governing <a href="https://theconversation.com/cop26-strong-carbon-trading-rules-could-help-the-world-avoid-dangerous-levels-of-global-warming-151172">carbon trading</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-unescos-nature-based-solutions-to-water-problems-wont-work-in-africa-93208">Why UNESCO's 'nature based solutions' to water problems won't work in Africa</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="man in traditional Brazilian head-dress" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429574/original/file-20211101-13-1nsno5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429574/original/file-20211101-13-1nsno5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429574/original/file-20211101-13-1nsno5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429574/original/file-20211101-13-1nsno5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429574/original/file-20211101-13-1nsno5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429574/original/file-20211101-13-1nsno5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429574/original/file-20211101-13-1nsno5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">securing the rights of Indigenous People to their homelands would help conserve more carbon in the territories under their control.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What’s more, the high cost of global travel and accommodation and restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic <a href="https://www.corporateknights.com/climate-and-carbon/indigenous-barriers-to-cop26/">hinders</a> the attendance of First Nations leaders at international talks.</p>
<p>A Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples <a href="https://unfccc.int/LCIPP">Platform</a> was formalised at COP21 in Paris. But it remains to be seen whether this will influence negotiations at COP26.</p>
<p>Finally, while nature-based solutions have the potential to be an important response to reducing human-caused emissions, they are fraught with danger. The <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/ClimateChange/EM2016/DisproportionateImpacts.pdf">real culpability</a> for climate change lies with nations and regions that burn large amounts of fossil fuels. </p>
<p>First Nations people should not be forced to carry the burden of climate action. Instead, world leaders must prioritise reducing CO₂ emissions at their source.</p>
<p>At the same time, they must recognise the rights and interests of Indigenous people and guarantee climate solutions are determined by Traditional Owners on our/their land.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170083/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joint first authorship is ascribed to all listed authors.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Cadman has been part of ARC funded projects investigating the integrity of climate change policy. He provides advice to community and not-for-profit organisations on forest policy as part of his academic service obligations. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rowan Foley and Toni Hay do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
More than 100 nations have pledged to end deforestation by 2030. But there’s no mention of the need for Indigenous people to give their prior informed consent.
Robert Hales, Director Centre for Sustainable Enterprise, Griffith University
Rowan Foley, CEO of Aboriginal Carbon Foundation, Indigenous Knowledge
Tim Cadman, Research Fellow with the Law Futures Centre and the Institute for Ethics, Governance and Law, Griffith University
Toni Hay, Expert in Indigenous climate adaptation, Indigenous Knowledge
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/166561
2021-09-02T04:24:23Z
2021-09-02T04:24:23Z
Regressive changes to Northern Territory water laws could undermine Indigenous rights
<p>Water management in the Northern Territory just keeps <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-25/beetaloo-basin-fracking-grants-program-nt-senator-urges-rethink-/100404392">making headlines</a>. The recent decision to grant an unprecedentedly large <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-08/singleton-granted-40-000-megalitre-water-licence/100055212">groundwater licence</a> is a case in point. </p>
<p>The licence, granted to Fortune Agribusiness at Singleton Station, threatens springs and sacred sites near Alice Springs, and Aboriginal people, who are the custodians of these places, say they <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-14/sacred-sites-under-threat-singleton-station-water-licence/100371276">“are not being listened to</a>”.</p>
<p>These media stories point to a <a href="https://www.ntnews.com.au/news/special-features/in-depth/perceived-conflicts-and-secretive-governance-risks-nts-most-precious-resource-environmental-advocates-warn/news-story/815d21af48a03488a6b3752758cbfcdd">wider problem</a> with water law and water management in the Northern Territory. <a href="https://legislation.nt.gov.au/en/LegislationPortal/Bills/%7E/link.aspx?_id=0049A11CD67F4E23A9FFE548CEECE05E&amp;_z=z">New legislation</a> passed just this month is set to make it worse. </p>
<p>Under the cover of responding to a COVID-induced economic slowdown, the Northern Territory government is set to undermine hard-won national standards of water governance. This includes one of the most important advances in Indigenous water rights: the reservation of water for Aboriginal land owners to use or trade. </p>
<p>The Northern Land Council called the water law reforms a “<a href="https://www.nlc.org.au/media-publications/northern-land-council-condemns-water-access-changes-as-a-betrayal-of-the-interests-of-all-territorians">betrayal of the interests of all Territorians</a>”.</p>
<p>With even <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-05/proposed-nt-water-amendments-delayed/100352154">more regressive reforms</a> on the books, the future of the NT’s water is looking more like its frontier past.</p>
<h2>The NT’s history of undermining Aboriginal economic development</h2>
<p>Water is a valuable resource, especially in the drier zones of Australia. The sheer volume of the Alice Springs water licence, in particular, represents a new form of resource extraction that rivals mineral extraction in scale. </p>
<p>Just as in the 19th and 20th centuries, the rampant reach of the Crown to appropriate and control natural resources to the detriment of Aboriginal peoples is evident. Analysis of the actions of the NT government in land rights disputes since the 1970s showed it made “<a href="https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/handle/1885/210430">immense areas of land and resources</a>” available to commercial interests at virtually no cost. </p>
<p>A major participant (and beneficiary) of the government’s efforts to prevent land claims was the Northern Territory Land Corporation. Its role included holding title to certain lands, thereby removing them from the category of land over which claims could be made under the Land Rights Act.</p>
<p>History is being repeated in today’s water reforms. The Northern Territory Land Corporation has now been repurposed to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2021-06-23/water-allocation-revoked-larrimah-agricultural-precinct/100238158">accelerate the transfer of water rights to commercial interests</a>. This move could make it harder for Aboriginal people to access water. </p>
<h2>Why is Northern Territory water governance so weak?</h2>
<p>In 2004, states and territories across Australia signed the <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/sites/default/files/sitecollectiondocuments/water/Intergovernmental-Agreement-on-a-national-water-initiative.pdf">National Water Initiative</a>, which laid a foundation for good water management. On almost all counts, the Northern Territory is <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07900627.2019.1578199">not compliant</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-its-time-to-talk-about-our-water-emergency-139024">Australia, it's time to talk about our water emergency</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Only <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07900627.2021.1882406">5% of the Northern Territory</a> is covered by water allocation plans. Under NT law, environmental water is protected through provisions in water plans – which means it is largely unprotected in the 95% of the territory without a plan. </p>
<p>Major decisions about water use are made by the water controller, who wears multiple hats. They are the water regulator, the chief executive of the Territory’s environment department, and also sometimes a water holder through their role on the board of the Northern Territory Land Corporation. We think that this inevitably creates a perception of a conflict of interest, and objectively leaves the decisions open to criticism, even where the decisions are well based. </p>
<p>One of the only areas in which the NT is arguably ahead of the curve is the <a href="http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nt/consol_act/wa199283/s4.html#aboriginal_water_reserve">Strategic Aboriginal Water Reserve</a>. It was introduced into law in 2019 because Indigenous people have historically been locked out of water allocation processes and denied water rights.</p>
<p>The reserve sets aside <a href="https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/handle/10072/399171.2">up to 30% of water rights</a> in a water allocation plan area for Aboriginal economic development. The reserve is only available to Aboriginal people with <a href="http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nt/consol_act/wa199283/s4b.html">recognised rights</a> to land.</p>
<p>Water can only be accessed under the reserve through an allocation plan. Even then, if all the available water is allocated by the time the plan is prepared, the reserve will have <a href="https://www.westlaw.com.au/maf/wlau/ext/app/document?docguid=Ia259ba44228b11eb99dafba9e329f6c2&tocDs=AUNZ_AU_JOURNALS_TOC&isTocNav=true&startChunk=1&endChunk=1">no water</a>.</p>
<h2>New laws make NT water governance worse</h2>
<p>On August 12, the NT parliament passed the first of two key pieces of water legislation. The <a href="https://legislation.nt.gov.au/en/LegislationPortal/Bills/%7E/link.aspx?_id=0049A11CD67F4E23A9FFE548CEECE05E&amp;_z=z">Statute Law Amendment (Territory Economic Reform) Act</a> creates “head licence” arrangements that will formally allow “speculative” water licence applications from land developers, including the NT Land Corporation. </p>
<p>As water licences in the NT cost nothing to acquire, developers can effectively hoard this water for free until they are ready to proceed, locking others out.</p>
<p>The second set of law reforms are in the <a href="https://www.edo.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/NT-Water-Law-Amendments.pdf">environment omnibus bills</a>, which have been <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-05/proposed-nt-water-amendments-delayed/100352154">recently delayed</a> by the NT environment minister after widespread concern about inadequate consultation. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/ecnt/pages/543/attachments/original/1627981078/ECNT_-_Fact_sheet_-_Water_Act_amendments_-_Authorised.pdf?1627981078">currently</a> written, these bills:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>reduce the need to comply with water allocation plans when issuing a water licence </p></li>
<li><p>enable water trade to occur outside water allocation plan areas </p></li>
<li><p>reduce public notification requirements, including for dams, limiting public feedback. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>If passed, these laws would reduce transparency and scientific rigour in water allocation and undermine public confidence in regulation.</p>
<p>Together, these proposed changes mean the Northern Territory government is less likely to invest resources to produce more water allocation plans (essential for Aboriginal Water Reserves). Even where they do, new “head licence” law means more water may be allocated by the time the plans come into effect, leaving less in the Aboriginal Water Reserve.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-beetaloo-drilling-program-brings-potential-health-and-social-issues-for-aboriginal-communities-in-remote-nt-165392">The Beetaloo drilling program brings potential health and social issues for Aboriginal communities in remote NT</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The future of water management in the Northern Territory</h2>
<p>We can’t help but also draw a connection between the new legislation and the <a href="https://supremecourt.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/767076/NTSC-30-Hil1505-Environment-Centre-Northern-Territory-NT-Inc-v-Minister-for-Land-Resource-Management-29-May-2015.pdf">successful challenges</a> to water licence decisions made by the water controller. </p>
<p>These include most recently the decision by the NT minister to cancel the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2021-06-23/water-allocation-revoked-larrimah-agricultural-precinct/100238158">Larrimah water licence</a> (issued to the Northern Territory Land Corporation) on the grounds it lacked clarity on future water use and was therefore too “speculative”. </p>
<p>A similar <a href="https://www.ntnews.com.au/news/centralian-advocate/central-land-council-demands-review-of-controversial-singleton-station-water-licence/news-story/6e205f3c7b04e96487d4253d112309ef">challenge</a> has been made to the decision to grant the 40,000 megalitre licence at Alice Springs. However, the new “head licence” arrangements could entrench speculative water use in the Northern Territory’s water law.</p>
<p>While the changes appear to be aimed at <a href="https://ntrebound.nt.gov.au/reports/final-report">stimulating economic development</a>, the package of law reforms (those passed in August and those still under consideration) weaken legal controls on the issuing of water licences. Considering the Northern Territory’s colonial history, these new laws seem like a way to make it harder for Aboriginal people to access water for economic gain.</p>
<p>The excessive scope of this package of new water laws is not dissimilar to the long campaign by mining companies and the Northern Territory government itself in opposition to Aboriginal land rights from the 1970s. </p>
<p>The Northern Territory government has a long, tragic history of weakening land and water rights for Aboriginal people, and the proposed laws could further entrench the national problem of <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-an-ugly-legacy-of-denying-water-rights-to-aboriginal-people-not-much-has-changed-141743">water dispossession</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/166561/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erin O'Donnell has received funding from the Northern Land Council for research on the Strategic Aboriginal Water Reserve in 2021. She is a member of the Birrarung Council, the voice of the Yarra River.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Professor Marcia Langton AO holds the Chair in Australian Indigenous Studies at The University of Melbourne consults to Origin Energy (2021) and other private sector entities cultural awareness, reconciliation and Indigenous engagement. She has received receives funding from the ARC and AIATSIS for research on Indigenous agreements and resource management, including water resources. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sue Jackson has received funding from the Northern Land Council for research on the Strategic Aboriginal Water Reserve in 2021 and from a number of ARC grant schemes (for research on Indigenous water rights, water cultures, and water and carbon markets). She is a member of the scientific advisory committees of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and the Lake Eyre Basin Ministerial Council.</span></em></p>
History is being repeated with the Northern Territory government finding ways to stop Aboriginal people from gaining access to water to use or trade.
Erin O'Donnell, Early Career Academic Fellow, Centre for Resources, Energy and Environment Law, The University of Melbourne
Professor Marcia Langton, Foundation Chair in Australian Indigenous Studies, The University of Melbourne
Sue Jackson, Professor, Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/163597
2021-07-15T19:17:32Z
2021-07-15T19:17:32Z
Mozambique’s fossil fuel drive is entrenching poverty and conflict
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410812/original/file-20210712-23-13hfqgi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1920%2C1279&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Oil and gas extraction can have dire consequences for the countries in which it takes place.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixabay.com/photos/industry-sunset-fossil-fuel-3197398/">ARMBRUSTERBIZ/Pixabay</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Earlier this year, militants stormed the coastal town of Palma, Mozambique, which lies close to vast plants for extracting liquefied natural gas (LNG). Dozens of people were <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-56557623">killed</a> and thousands more displaced.</p>
<p>Nearly two weeks later, the army had managed to secure the town. Yet the French oil and gas firm <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/4698993Z:FP">Total</a> had already <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/natural-gas/032921-frances-total-suspends-restart-of-mozambique-lng-work-after-renewed-violence">called off the planned resumption</a> of construction at its £14.4 billion LNG project near Palma on the Afungi peninsula, and pulled all staff from the site. </p>
<p>Total then declared a state of <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/forcemajeure.asp">“force majeure”</a>, relieving the company of its obligations to the project due to circumstances beyond its control – leaving it unclear if construction will resume.</p>
<p>Other large scale extraction projects in Mozambique are also facing challenges. In January 2021, Brazil’s <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-mitsuimitsui-co-coal-idUSKBN29Q08C">Vale SA</a>, one of Latin America’s largest mining companies, announced a deal to regain control of its unprofitable coal mining operations in Mozambique. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Hills and a coal mine under a bright sky" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409152/original/file-20210630-25-1tjppkb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409152/original/file-20210630-25-1tjppkb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409152/original/file-20210630-25-1tjppkb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409152/original/file-20210630-25-1tjppkb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409152/original/file-20210630-25-1tjppkb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409152/original/file-20210630-25-1tjppkb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409152/original/file-20210630-25-1tjppkb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A coal beacon hill mine in Tete.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joshua Kirshner</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Vale won the rights to operate the Moatize mine in the Tete province in 2004, <a href="http://country.eiu.com/article.aspx?articleid=1358181520&Country=Mozambique&topic=Economy&subtopic=Recent+developments&subsubtopic=Economic+performance:+Production+starts+at+Vale%27s+coal+mine+in+Moatize">starting production</a> in 2011. Despite initial optimism, the mines have faced rising costs and labour shortages, conflicts over resettlement of local communities displaced by the mine, and declining global <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-review-2020/coal">coal prices</a> since 2014.</p>
<p>President Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique has said that his government expects to make over US$100 billion from natural gas projects. The income will provide tax revenue and create 70,000 well-paid jobs over 20 years <a href="https://clubofmozambique.com/news/mozambiques-nyusi-vows-to-restore-peace-in-gas-rich-cabo-delgado-watch-190052/">from 2022</a>. Meanwhile, the government is trying to reduce Mozambique’s <a href="https://www.wider.unu.edu/publication/foreign-aid-resource-rents-and-institution-building-mozambique-and-angola">dependence</a> on foreign aid from the USA, UK, Sweden and Norway <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2016.1241140">among others</a>.</p>
<p>That means the government’s current strategy is to prioritise supporting fossil fuel extraction for internal financial benefit, over meeting the immediate needs of the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by intensifying <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17531055.2020.1789271?casa_token=nkj8OBD9in4AAAAA%3AFEWKRhu2KGrvDnRJhreNiIqgn-gw6TWg749nY26_iUi9KUKMGlPMilPZ6x1-ItXGs6Z4oG5DNYS3Tw&journalCode=rjea20">conflict</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A person inspects a solar panel" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409154/original/file-20210630-21-n0m43e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409154/original/file-20210630-21-n0m43e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409154/original/file-20210630-21-n0m43e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409154/original/file-20210630-21-n0m43e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409154/original/file-20210630-21-n0m43e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409154/original/file-20210630-21-n0m43e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409154/original/file-20210630-21-n0m43e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Renewable energy is scarce in the country.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joshua Kirshner</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Land rights</h2>
<p>Many people are concerned about what this means for the country’s citizens. <a href="https://carleton.ca/africanstudies/people/dr-david-m-matsinhe/">David Matsinhe</a>, activist and scholar in African Studies at Carleton University, has argued that the politics of <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2021-05-02-the-transformation-of-mozambique-into-fields-of-straw-and-the-resulting-fires-of-conflict/">Mozambican land use</a> prioritise economic development at the expense of human rights, community compensation or the consent of the land’s inhabitants.</p>
<p>This land injustice tends to be concentrated in the central and northern regions of Mozambique, which are also political strongholds for Mozambique’s two main opposition political parties, Renamo and MDM. </p>
<p>By contrast, most economic and political resources are concentrated in the southern region: especially in the capital, Maputo, where Frelimo – the ruling party – holds the most support. Power, investment and wealth from central and northern regions <a href="https://academic.oup.com/afraf/article-abstract/117/468/415/4056499">disproportionately benefits</a> the small, politically connected elite in Maputo. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A green hill with trees in the foreground" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410816/original/file-20210712-17-1er7b6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410816/original/file-20210712-17-1er7b6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410816/original/file-20210712-17-1er7b6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410816/original/file-20210712-17-1er7b6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410816/original/file-20210712-17-1er7b6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410816/original/file-20210712-17-1er7b6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410816/original/file-20210712-17-1er7b6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mozambique’s significant resources bring the country income, but are not always used for the benefit of its citizens.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixabay.com/photos/mozambique-mountains-sky-clouds-105171/">David Mark/Pixabay</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Mozambique is naturally <a href="https://www.eia.gov/international/analysis/country/MOZ">rich in fuel</a>. Possessing 100 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, the country is the third-largest source of natural gas in Africa. But fossil fuel extraction is driven by multinational corporations, with the government clearing the way for export to countries across the world. Large <a href="https://www.hydropower.org/country-profiles/mozambique">hydropower plants</a> in the Tete Province also supply power to South Africa and Zimbabwe as well as Mozambique, and Tete’s coal is exported globally. </p>
<p>At the same time, energy poverty continues to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629621002164">plague rural communities</a> across the country. Tete has one of the country’s lowest energy access rates, with just 18% of its citizens connected to an electricity grid in 2019. Across the country, around 32% of the population has reliable access to electricity, but that figure <a href="https://www.uncdf.org/admin/editors/ArticleItem/Index/6474?articleTitle=energy-and-the-poor-unpacking-the-investment-case-for-clean-energy">drops to 7%</a> in rural areas.</p>
<p>Government promises of improved development for ordinary citizens have yet to materialise. Such thwarted expectations and widespread unemployment, particularly among younger generations, have heightened social tension, divisions and conflict across the country. </p>
<p>Mozambique’s widespread reliance on <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-extractive-industries-manage-to-carry-on-harming-the-planet-155323">“extractivism”</a> – making profit through extracting and exporting huge amounts of energy sources from the earth – is embedded in its social and political history. The colonialism, exploitation and state-sponsored violence that <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4186800">litter its past</a> and impact its present have locked Mozambique into a political and economic model that requires ongoing external financial support.</p>
<p>Mozambican authorities are also forced to respond to the market demands set by wealthy industrialised countries, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214629616300354?casa_token=-TnWp_CR81EAAAAA:e9as5oyf2WvxtVTQOpyOD3VL8VFu8FrjFRC01-CWQM85jtZzRd8HKH-PZ2eRbjXZYD2l4ZrwFgY">reducing their autonomy</a> – and making it difficult to transition away from <a href="https://theconversation.com/use-of-dirty-fuels-is-pervasive-in-ghana-what-can-be-done-to-transition-to-clean-energy-151231">“dirty” energy</a> provided by coal and gas. Meanwhile, the country’s own citizens continue to lose out. </p>
<p>The problems created by these patterns aren’t the only cause of local violent conflict, but they are certainly contributing to it by increasing the vulnerability and exclusion of Mozambique’s poorest citizens.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A building against a blue sky" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409153/original/file-20210630-17-1jgd5tq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409153/original/file-20210630-17-1jgd5tq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409153/original/file-20210630-17-1jgd5tq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409153/original/file-20210630-17-1jgd5tq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409153/original/file-20210630-17-1jgd5tq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409153/original/file-20210630-17-1jgd5tq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409153/original/file-20210630-17-1jgd5tq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Market women in Mavonde, Manica province, Mozambique using a solar panel to store frozen fish.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joshua Kirshner, Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Change is coming</h2>
<p>What can break this impasse? Recent conflicts, political turmoil and the growing threat of climate-induced disasters could push Mozambique to re-envision its energy and development strategies.</p>
<p>Nyusi has also said his country wants to <a href="https://clubofmozambique.com/news/mozambiques-nyusi-vows-to-restore-peace-in-gas-rich-cabo-delgado-watch-190052/">avoid</a> the negative experiences of other nations that failed to use wealth from their own resources to create prosperity for their citizens. If this is to happen, it’s vital for the government to place community and sustainability at the heart of its approach to energy. </p>
<p>The government must work to involve locals, not just international energy giants, in developing sustainable energy for the country. This could be achieved by helping communities develop more off-grid, low-carbon energy projects that are subsidised – allowing lower-income, marginalised and vulnerable populations to share in their benefits.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A building against a blue sky" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409156/original/file-20210630-13-fm027x.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409156/original/file-20210630-13-fm027x.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409156/original/file-20210630-13-fm027x.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409156/original/file-20210630-13-fm027x.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409156/original/file-20210630-13-fm027x.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409156/original/file-20210630-13-fm027x.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409156/original/file-20210630-13-fm027x.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A local health unit in Tengua village, Zambezia province, Mozambique, with a solar panel providing limited electricity for basic health services.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joshua Kirshner</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It should also begin requiring fossil fuel companies setting up shop in Mozambique to support community-based renewable energy projects in exchange for their right to operate oil and gas power plants. Mozambique’s economy deserves to be centred around its citizens, and its energy projects geared towards the local communities they serve.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163597/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joshua Kirshner co-leads the project: A Political- Economic Analysis of Electricity Grid Access Histories and Futures in Mozambique (POLARIZE), funded through the Applied Research Programme on Energy for Economic Growth (EEG) led by Oxford Policy Management (project number A0534A), and funded by the UK Government, through UK Aid – UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniela Salite works on a project: A Political- Economic Analysis of Electricity Grid Access Histories and Futures in
Mozambique (POLARIZE), funded through the Applied Research Programme on Energy for Economic Growth (EEG) led by Oxford Policy Management (project number A0534A), and funded by the UK Government, through UK Aid – UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Cotton co-leads the project: A Political- Economic Analysis of Electricity Grid Access Histories and Futures in Mozambique (POLARIZE), funded through the Applied Research Programme on Energy for Economic Growth (EEG) led by Oxford Policy Management (project number A0534A), and funded by the UK Government, through UK Aid – UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).</span></em></p>
Colonialism, political turmoil and unmet citizen promises all lie behind the rise of attacks on foreign-run fossil fuel plants in Mozambique.
Joshua Kirshner, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography and Environmental Studies, University of York
Daniela Salite, Postdoctoral research associate, University of York
Matthew Cotton, Professor of Public Policy, Teesside University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/158846
2021-04-27T15:21:38Z
2021-04-27T15:21:38Z
Malawi’s farm subsidies aren’t helping women: but there are solutions
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397005/original/file-20210426-23-19ox1o1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Input subsidies aren't helping women like Malawian farmer Grace Stenala. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Amos Gumulira/AFP via Getty Images </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Smallholder agriculture is the backbone of food security in many sub-Saharan African households. And women, in particular, play a central role in putting food on the table. </p>
<p>However, there is an imbalance between what women put in and what they get out.</p>
<p>Women contribute many hours to produce crops for food and for sale. But when it comes to selling crops for income they don’t reap the same benefits as men. </p>
<p>This comes out clearly in the results of <a href="https://portal.pep-net.org/public/project/20428">our new study</a> into the Farm Input Subsidy Programme that distributed fertiliser vouchers to poor agricultural households in Malawi until 2019. </p>
<p>Using rich agricultural household survey data, we showed that these agricultural subsidies increased households’ incomes from selling crops. But we were more interested in what happened to women. Did they gain more than men, in relation to their central role in agricultural work? We looked at the low proportion of women who made decisions about incomes from selling crops, and whether agricultural input subsidies improved this situation. </p>
<p>Malawi has been at the forefront of implementing policies to improve access to inputs. In the early 2000s, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919217308618">farm input subsidies re-emerged</a> as a way to improve smallholder productivity and food security. Initially, subsidies helped to move Malawi from having <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919217308618">food shortages to having more than enough maize</a>. The programme also <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919217302695/">reduced poverty</a>, as smallholder farmers could sell some of their extra crops for cash.</p>
<p>But the country ramped up its efforts in 2020 by introducing the Affordable Inputs Programme. All smallholder farmers were targeted as beneficiaries. The <a href="https://massp.ifpri.info/2020/10/09/insuring-the-aip-the-devil-is-in-the-details/">budget for input subsidies almost doubled</a>, with the aim of supporting widespread food security. </p>
<p>While there is optimism that many households can be reached by this large policy intervention, it remains uncertain who will get most of the benefit <em>inside</em> households. Because many women provide their labour to agriculture, one would expect subsidies targeted at these activities to firstly benefit them. </p>
<p>Our research shows that this is not the case. </p>
<h2>Impact</h2>
<p>We found that the subsidy put women in an even weaker position relative to men in households. This is because the subsidy funded fertiliser and seeds, giving even more power to men who controlled decisions over these inputs. Most importantly, these gender inequalities emerged in parts of the country where women were supposed to have land rights, but where these were often not respected.</p>
<p>A big issue is who makes decisions over agricultural inputs – the seed that grows into food, and fertilisers that help to grow <em>more, nutritious</em> food. Men have greater access to inputs and capital that are needed to produce crops. They therefore have more power to decide how income that comes from selling those crops is spent. And this starts a vicious cycle of exclusion. </p>
<p>Our study investigated these dynamics. We studied the Farm Input Subsidy Programme, a precursor to the Affordable Inputs Programme.</p>
<p>Viewed as a whole, households were better off after receiving input subsidies. They were more likely to take their crops to market, and income from these sales received a significant boost. These benefits are well-known.</p>
<h2>Matrilocal versus patrilocal communities</h2>
<p>We looked at the impact of the subsidy in both matrilocal communities – when the husband goes to live with the wife’s community – and patrilocal communities, in which couples settle in the husband’s home or community. </p>
<p>Considering matrilocal and patrilocal communities raises the problem of uncertain land rights. In matrilineal societies, land rights are passed on to women. Women’s land rights are formally recognised by Malawi’s <a href="https://www.nyasatimes.com/new-land-law-promote-welfare-dignity-malawi-women-landnet/">2016 Land Act</a>. Women should be able to make decisions about how land is cultivated and how profits are shared. In reality, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malawi-landrights-women-idUSKCN1M51GQ">men in extended families make decisions about land rights on behalf of women</a> – and after that, their husbands make remaining decisions. </p>
<p>Women therefore often continue to work the land rather than playing more strategic roles.</p>
<p>Looking <em>within</em> households paints a concerning picture. Women’s agency and decision-making power is <a href="https://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/bitstream/10546/345993/1/cs-wogives-malawi-060315-en.pdf">very low across the country</a>. In patrilocal communities – where couples live close to men’s extended families – only 5% of women can decide what to do with income from selling crops.</p>
<p>The situation is only somewhat better in matrilocal communities, where couples live close to the women’s family – 9.6% of women have this kind of bargaining power. Moving to women’s communities does not remove the large imbalance between men and women.</p>
<p>Our research showed that agricultural input subsidies made things worse. After receiving subsidies, husbands in matrilocal communities <em>gained</em> even more power to decide how incomes from crops were spent. In fact, the patterns started to resemble the highly unequal practices in patrilocal regions more closely, where subsidies had no effect on women’s decision-making power. </p>
<p>Women in matrilocal areas lost some of their bargaining power, but didn’t spend less time in agricultural work. </p>
<p>Context matters. Our study supports the idea that input subsidies allow <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24487327?seq=1">husbands to win</a> back some of the bargaining power that sits with women’s extended families. Power moves between men in the broader community and men inside households. But the benefits of subsidies bypass women.</p>
<h2>Alternatives</h2>
<p>A low-cost policy solution is to improve the targeting of subsidies <em>inside</em> households. The Farm Input Subsidy Programme emphasised <em>female headship</em> as one criterion for identifying <em>which</em> households should benefit. But this criterion alone does not address the inequalities that women face inside <em>male-headed</em> households. Directing subsidies to the person in the household who cultivates the land seems to be a good starting point. </p>
<p>Policy makers should therefore spend more effort developing frameworks for identifying the right beneficiary inside a household. </p>
<p>Ensuring that women gain control over inputs may not go the full length, though. If women’s existing land rights are not taken seriously, they will also have little say over income that comes from the land. While laws can be written and policies formulated, gender equality ultimately depends on the commitment of communities to uphold and promote them. They should be supported in doing so.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158846/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dieter von Fintel receives funding from the Partnership for Economic Policy, Sveriges Riksbank and the National Research Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anja Smith receives funding from the Partnership for Economic Policy and the South African National Research Foundation (NRF).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Francesca Marchetta receives funding from the Partnership for Economic Policy. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martin Limbikani Mwale receives funding from the Partnership for Economic Policy(PEP) and the Germany Academic Exchange Services(DAAD). </span></em></p>
Malawi’s revamped subsidy regime is designed to reach many more farmers. But a granular look shows that women aren’t reaping the benefits.
Dieter von Fintel, Associate Professor, Stellenbosch University
Anja Smith, Researcher at Research on Socio-Economic Policy (ReSEP), Economics Department, Stellenbosch University
Francesca Marchetta, Maîtresse de conférences en économie, Université Clermont Auvergne (UCA)
Martin Limbikani Mwale, PhD Student, Stellenbosch University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/158445
2021-04-14T14:26:49Z
2021-04-14T14:26:49Z
Mixture of rules makes it hard to manage pastoralist conflict in Ghana
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/394513/original/file-20210412-19-16i3war.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Conflicts between nomadic livestock farmers and crop farmers are common in Ghana. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/fulani-herding-boy-walks-with-his-cows-in-a-field-outside-news-photo/645809648?adppopup=true">Stefan Heunis/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Conflicts between nomadic livestock farmers (pastoralists) and crop farmers are common social problems reported in every sub-region in Africa. These problems even existed before some states gained independence. They are common in communities where both groups of farmers live together, or when the moving herds arrive and feed in farming communities. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://au.int/en/documents/20130415">African Union estimates</a> that about 268 million pastoralists live in Africa. </p>
<p>Usually, the conflicts are over the use of natural resources such as agricultural land. As <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/">climate change</a> leads to environmental and weather changes that reduce natural resources, it’s been <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/world/how-climate-change-driving-conflict-africa">argued</a> that these conflicts will get <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/08/06/farmer-herder-conflicts-rise-africa#:%7E:text=In%20Nigeria%2C%20deaths%20from%20violence,different%20elsewhere%20in%20West%20Africa.&text=Violent%20clashes%20also%20cause%20women,to%20further%20risks%20of%20abuse">worse</a> over time.</p>
<p>A less well explored question is whether the shrinking of natural resources is the only factor contributing to potentially worse conflicts.</p>
<p>I carried out a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1542316621995733">review</a> of literature on pastoralist conflicts in Africa and found that another theme emerged: the role of institutions. Institutions here refer to the broad range of rules – traditional practices, modern laws, government policies – that regulate access to community resources such as pasture. The review showed that many of the conflicts could be explained by shortfalls in these institutions operating in the communities. </p>
<p>The analysis led to the view that rapidly changing institutions across many communities experiencing these conflicts in Africa have led to weak resource management practices. This makes communities vulnerable to climate-related changes. Hence there is the need for clear rules about how common resources can be shared.</p>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1542316621995733">The research</a> then tested the idea that institutions are key to understanding pastoralist conflict by looking more closely at <a href="https://www.graphic.com.gh/features/features/ghananews-nomadic-herdsmen-and-crop-farmers-conflicts-in-ghana-implications-challenges-and-suggested-solutions.html">one</a> of Ghana’s conflict hotspots. This is in the Agogo community, where crop farmers and cattle herders have engaged in <a href="https://www.modernghana.com/news/828889/fulani-menace-shoot-the-cattle-approach-very.html">violent clashes</a> since the 1980s. Crop farmers complain that grazing herds destroy their farms and herders complain that they are being unfairly deprived of access to resources. </p>
<p>Already, there’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-affecting-agrarian-migrant-livelihoods-in-ghana-this-is-how-156212">evidence</a> that climate change is having an impact on agriculture in Ghana through worsening rainfall and soil conditions. The fertile lands that farmers and herders compete over are shrinking. This would not be such a problem if it was clear how resources could be shared. But my research showed that there’s confusion among the institutions that govern resource management, and this confusion doesn’t help when it comes to coping with shortages. </p>
<h2>Conflicting rules</h2>
<p>My review showed that institutions are relevant in three ways. First, institutions have changed over time, from precolonial to colonial and democratic systems. This affects things like who has rights to land. Second, different kinds of institutions such as customary practices and modern laws operate at the same time and place. It is not clear who is the authority over resources and the management of these conflicts. Third, people attach different meanings to institutions. They see institutions as useful or not, fair or unfair, legitimate or illegitimate depending on how much they gain or lose when the rules are applied. They then cooperate with or resist rules and policies that are supposed to regulate access to common resources.</p>
<p>This was evident in the Ghanaian case study. There was tension between formal and informal rules governing natural resources – a consequence of rapid changes to the way Ghanaian society is organised. Since its independence in 1957, resource management practices have moved from informal customary rules to formal laws. Ghana has pursued a quick <a href="https://afrobarometer.org/publications/ad23-ghanas-decentralization-locally-centralized-decision-making-ill-serves-its-public">decentralisation agenda</a> which has had two key consequences for land resource governance. </p>
<p>First, appointed or elected community leaders are now competing with customary chiefs for legitimacy. Second, customary law and dispute resolution are gradually being displaced by formal laws and court arbitration. These have led to huge controversies. The research reveals for instance controversies about whether it is customary or state laws of citizenship and residence that apply in determining the right to land. </p>
<p>Some farmers regard herders as descendants of foreign nomads who have no right to land. But the herders claim their rights either through West African or national citizenship laws and through the acquisition of formal leases. Both sides see their claims as legitimate. Thus, the conflicting institutional context gives rise to the conflict. Also, there are conflicting political policies to address the issue and there is weak border control which allows illicit arms flows. Both add to the problem. </p>
<p>Depending on which side they wish to appeal to, political actors can choose the rules they support when making promises and policies. The policies are therefore contradictory and incoherent. It is not surprising then that interventions have not so far succeeded. </p>
<p>For instance, the local government introduced a policy to evict nomadic herders from the community. This included the very unpopular idea of <a href="https://www.modernghana.com/news/828889/fulani-menace-shoot-the-cattle-approach-very.html">killing cattle</a> belonging to herders who refused to leave. At the same time, there were policies from the two main political parties in Ghana to either <a href="https://citinewsroom.com/2020/11/mahama-promises-herdsmen-land-for-cattle-grazing/">acquire separate land</a> or <a href="https://www.primenewsghana.com/general-news/gov-t-sets-up-first-cattle-ranch-in-afram-plains-to-deal-with-fulani-menace.html">create ranches</a> to accommodate the herders. On one hand the policy is to expel herders, but on the other hand it is to accommodate them. With political support on either side, the stakes have moved beyond natural resource competition to competition for political recognition. </p>
<p>Another institutional confusion concerns the protocols of the West African sub-region when pastoralists move from other countries into Ghana. The government professes staunch support for <a href="https://www.tralac.org/news/article/12155-ghana-commits-to-ecowas-free-movement-protocol.html">free movement of people</a> across borders, yet state <a href="https://www.refworld.org/docid/4bdfdae18.html">security agents complain</a> about the security threats posed by movement of herders. The borders are being opened despite concerns about weak checks and an <a href="https://www.modernghana.com/news/1037641/more-illegal-guns-in-ashanti-region-followed-by.html">influx of illicit arms</a>. The <a href="https://mofa.gov.gh/site/directorates/regional-directorates/ashanti-region">Ashanti Region</a>, where Agogo is located, has been noted as one of the key destinations of these arms flows. With these developments, pastoralist-related conflicts risk becoming more weaponised, creating potential for disaster. </p>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>Institutional problems make it difficult to satisfy the interests of both livestock and crop farmers, who are already in contest over agricultural resources.</p>
<p>With climate change threatening to reduce the already scarce resources, these conflicts are expected to rise. </p>
<p>It is necessary then to address the institutional contradictions that exist at all levels: sub-regional, national, regional and community. Any introduction of new rules should pay attention to existing ones and resolve any contradictions first. </p>
<p>There is no doubt that climate change will have an adverse impact on pastoralist conflicts in Africa, but it is the strength of the institutional framework in these communities that will determine how severe the impact will be.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158445/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This article's author, Dennis Penu, is also affiliated with the Department of Peace Studies of the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. The fieldwork to collect data on the Agogo case was partly sponsored by the Patrick Duncan graduate research
fund at the University of Oxford. This funding was received by Sebastian Paalo, a co-author to the original research publication informing this article. </span></em></p>
Institutional problems make it difficult to satisfy livestock and crop farmers’ interests, already in contest over agricultural resources.
Dennis Penu, PhD Research Fellow, International Institute of Social Studies
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/156323
2021-04-13T14:41:25Z
2021-04-13T14:41:25Z
Law protecting interests of South African communities in mining deals falls short
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/394765/original/file-20210413-19-1x6erzj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The community of Xolobeni village, in the Eastern Cape, succeesfully challenged the mining of their land in the High Court in 2018. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rogan Ward © Sunday Times.</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The impact of mining operations on rural communities is a contentious issue in South Africa. There is also concern about the manner in which communities are consulted about mining on their land. </p>
<p>There is often tension between pursuing the economic benefits of mining, and protecting the socioeconomic and <a href="https://www.sahrc.org.za/home/21/files/SAHRC%20Mining%20communities%20report%20FINAL.pdf">cultural rights of people</a>. Some communities rely on the land to sustain themselves through agriculture, and for some their cultural identity is <a href="https://www.parliament.gov.za/storage/app/media/Pages/2017/october/High_Level_Panel/HLP_Report/HLP_report.pdf">tied to the land</a>. </p>
<p>South Africa has laws to safeguard the interests of communities in their dealings with mining companies. The <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201409/act31of1996.pdf">Interim Protection of Informal Land Rights Act</a> of 1996 requires that communities provide “consent” before mining operations can start. The <a href="https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2004/05/28-of-2002-MINERAL-AND-PETROLEUM-RESOURCES-DEVELOPMENT-ACT_7-Dec-2014-to-date-1.pdf">Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act</a> of 2002 stipulates that there must be “meaningful consultation” between mining companies and communities. </p>
<p>As my <a href="http://www.saflii.org/za/journals/PER/2020/22.html">research</a> on the case of the Xolobeni community in the Eastern Cape province shows, the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act does not provide the necessary protection to communities in the awarding of licences to mine their land. </p>
<p>I noted that the new <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201911/4286528-11act3of2019tradkhoisanleadership.pdf">Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act</a> might not provide more protection to communities either. And it could be open to abuse. If the basic level of trust between communities and traditional leaders is not present, then legislation will not remedy injustices that occur.</p>
<h2>Challenges to community engagement</h2>
<p>In November 2018, the <a href="https://geotargit.com/index.php?qcountry_code=ZA&qregion_code=05&qcity=Xolobeni">Xolobeni</a> community <a href="http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAGPPHC/2018/829.html">successfully challenged</a> the awarding of a licence to an Australian mining company to mine for titanium on their land.</p>
<p>The case concerned the level of consent required to obtain a mining right over property held by a community with informal land tenure. In South Africa communal land is <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-giving-south-africans-title-deeds-isnt-the-panacea-for-land-reform-98106">collectively owned by the community</a> in terms of customary law and managed by the tribal authority.</p>
<p>The high court <a href="http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAGPPHC/2018/829.html">ruled</a> that in the case of informal land right holders, consent by the community was a requirement for obtaining a mining licence. The court’s decision followed a decade-long battle. It had pitted the community against the mining company and the traditional leaders.</p>
<p>My research, based on official documents and published accounts from the community, showed that traditional leaders or community representatives did not adequately represent the interests of the community in this case.</p>
<p>They did not consult properly with the affected members of the community, and thereby failed to adequately represent their interests. </p>
<p>Another problem is the potential for corruption. As a <a href="https://www.parliament.gov.za/storage/app/media/Pages/2017/october/High_Level_Panel/HLP_Report/HLP_report.pdf">report</a> by a legislative review panel chaired by former president Kgalema Motlanthe has found, there have been instances where leaders consented to mining in exchange for <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/business/2017-10-10-report-identifies-opportunities-for-corruption-in-mining-approval-processes/">certain advantages</a>. </p>
<p>There is also no oversight measure to ensure that communities are actually consulted properly. </p>
<h2>The Traditional and Khoi San Leadership Act</h2>
<p>In a further attempt by the legislature to address the issue of community engagement, the <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201911/4286528-11act3of2019tradkhoisanleadership.pdf">Traditional and Khoi San Leadership Act</a> was passed in 2019. Section 24 of the Act regulates the conclusion of agreements between a traditional council and private entities. It supersedes provisions of all the other laws. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201911/4286528-11act3of2019tradkhoisanleadership.pdf">traditional council</a> is a body that administers the affairs of a rural community. It is made up of elected members of the community or traditional leaders or both. </p>
<p>The new Act doesn’t fix the problems that my research identified. Instead of placing the focus on community rights, the Act seems to reaffirm the absolute authority of traditional leaders over the community engagement process. The most affected voices within a community could once again be lost.</p>
<p>According to the Act, partnerships and agreements between mining companies and communities must benefit the communities and enjoy their majority support.</p>
<p>“Consent” by the entire community, as previously required by the Interim Protection of Informal Land Rights Act, is no longer required. The decision should merely be supported by the majority. </p>
<p>It could be difficult to determine whether there is in fact majority support for a mine. The legislation doesn’t say how this majority will be determined.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02587203.2020.1867483?needAccess=true">According</a> to legal scholars Janine Ubink and Joanna Pickering:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Legislation regulating traditional leadership, for its part, centralises the powers of senior traditional leaders without incorporating crucial accountability mechanisms inherent in customary law. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>It is, therefore, necessary to find measures to ensure that the process of obtaining consent for mining operations is legitimate and fair. </p>
<p>For this to happen, the actions of mining companies should be monitored more effectively by independent third parties. This is to ensure that they do engage with affected community members in a manner that gives these people a voice. </p>
<h2>Solving the problem</h2>
<p>Government might have hoped to make the process of community engagement more transparent by regulating the way mining agreements should be reached in the Traditional and Khoi San Leadership Act. But it would be misguided to think that this will be possible.</p>
<p>The Act gives too much power to traditional leaders by giving them the right to control the engagement process and decide when a sufficient level of consent has been reached. </p>
<p>In order to resolve this problem, a few practical steps need to be taken by government, traditional leaders and mining companies. Firstly, communities need to be fully aware of their rights concerning community engagement and the process that has to be followed for companies to obtain consent to mine their lands. </p>
<p>Although there have been <a href="https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/CER-Mining-and-your-Community-Final-web.pdf%5D%5Bhttps://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/LRC-2016_Mining_affected_communities_Eng.pdf">initiatives</a> by civil society to inform communities of their rights, much work remains to be done in this regard. Community leaders and mining companies can also contribute to such advocacy efforts.</p>
<p>Secondly, government needs to address the matter of traditional leaders abusing their authority. If traditional leaders cannot effectively fulfil the role of intermediary between communities and mining companies, then that responsibility should be delegated. This could be done by appointing an impartial third party.</p>
<p>In general, there is a need for more transparency and accountability regarding the awarding of mining licences. This could prevent corruption and ensure the protection of communities’ rights.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/156323/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yolandi Meyer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Traditional leaders do not adequately represent the interests of rural communities in dealing with mining companies.
Yolandi Meyer, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, University of Johannesburg
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/154921
2021-03-10T17:33:20Z
2021-03-10T17:33:20Z
Logging company clears Cree Nation ancestral trail without recourse
<p>Last summer, a logging company cleared approximately 1,200 metres of an Indigenous ancestral trail in <a href="https://www.bigstone.ca/">Bigstone Cree Nation</a> territory, <a href="http://treaty8.bc.ca/treaty-8-accord/">Treaty No. 8 region</a> (northern Alberta), in spite of government regulations in place to protect land. </p>
<p>As an ancient archeological site, the trail should have been protected by the <a href="https://open.alberta.ca/publications/h09">Alberta Historical Resource Act</a>. A <a href="https://www.alberta.ca/historic-resource-impact-assessment.aspx">Historical Resource Impact Assessment</a> should have been conducted to assess the site’s protected value. </p>
<p>The logging company, Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries Inc., conducted a “desktop” assessment. But no one physically visited the area, and the assessment missed identifying the trail. </p>
<p>The trail is a valued cultural place, as the Bigstone Cree Nation Lands Department repeatedly informed Alberta-Pacific. Darren Decoine, the Bigstone Lands Department GIS technician, repeatedly requested detailed maps of the logging plans from Alberta-Pacific, but he says they were never provided. The company is supposed to provide shapefiles (maps in raw data form) that the First Nation can overlay with their own data about traditional land use to see if any sites might be damaged. </p>
<p>The trail, which travels from Chipewyan Lake to the Wabasca River is often called the Hudson’s Bay Trail in English (many trails get called HBC trails). But that name is a misnomer, and the original sakaw nehiyawewin (Northern Bush Cree) name for it is awatasooskenow. Elders say the trail, which became an important transportation route between Bigstone settlements, camps and the river, predates the arrival of HBC fur traders. In the 1900s, there was a trading post on the river and people would haul freight on the trail.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A trail surrounded by green trees." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385398/original/file-20210221-21-e3wh7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385398/original/file-20210221-21-e3wh7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385398/original/file-20210221-21-e3wh7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385398/original/file-20210221-21-e3wh7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385398/original/file-20210221-21-e3wh7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385398/original/file-20210221-21-e3wh7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385398/original/file-20210221-21-e3wh7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Part of the trail is still intact.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Darren Decoine/Bigstone Cree Nation)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Deforestation</h2>
<p><a href="https://northlandforestproducts.com/">Northland Forest Products Ltd.</a> is actively logging in Bigstone Cree Nation’s traditional territory, as the largest timber company contracted under Alberta-Pacific’s <a href="https://www.alberta.ca/forest-management-agreements.aspx">Forest Management Agreement</a> area. Alberta-Pacific is the point of contact for the community and it assumes a large share of the forest management responsibility with government oversight.</p>
<p>In 1999, Alberta-Pacific funded and published a <a href="http://www.barbau.ca/content/kituskeenow-traditional-land-use-and-occupancy-study-bigstone-cree-first-nation">Bigstone Cree Nation land and occupancy study</a>, and the trail is clearly marked on all base maps and in a specific section on traditional trails. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385399/original/file-20210221-17-hfzhqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385399/original/file-20210221-17-hfzhqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385399/original/file-20210221-17-hfzhqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=885&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385399/original/file-20210221-17-hfzhqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=885&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385399/original/file-20210221-17-hfzhqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=885&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385399/original/file-20210221-17-hfzhqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1113&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385399/original/file-20210221-17-hfzhqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1113&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385399/original/file-20210221-17-hfzhqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1113&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Map of Bigstone cultural trails, as depicted in a study funded by Alberta-Pacific.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Bigstone Cree Nation, 1999. Kituskeenow: Cultural Land-use and Occupancy Study. Arctic Institute of North America of the University of Calgary.)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But in 2007, Bigstone Cree Nation erected large, clear signs that mark the trail at its intersection with the Alberta-Pacific logging road. The portion of the trail that has been recently logged is right behind one of the signs that read: “Husdon’s Bay Trail. Heavy equipment not permitted.” The logging company’s machinery operations would have had to drive off of the Alberta-Pacific logging road and around the sign to be able to log the trail. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A sign that says Hudson Bay Trail by green trees." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385393/original/file-20210221-19-1cq86iv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385393/original/file-20210221-19-1cq86iv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385393/original/file-20210221-19-1cq86iv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385393/original/file-20210221-19-1cq86iv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385393/original/file-20210221-19-1cq86iv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385393/original/file-20210221-19-1cq86iv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385393/original/file-20210221-19-1cq86iv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sign marking the intersection of the trail and Alberta-Pacific logging road.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Darren Decoine/Bigstone Cree Nation)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Ancestral territory</h2>
<p>In 2007, Bigstone Cree Nation environmental monitors, including Elder Helen Noskiye and some of her siblings, directed a traditional land use assessment for Shell Oil’s proposed oilsands operations in the area. I was part of the team that hiked and monitored the trail at that time. Over a couple of weeks, we recorded at least 20 adjoining cultural places. I am currently part of a team of scientists that continues to collaborate with members of Bigstone Cree Nation on <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/university-calgary-bigstone-cree-nation-hunters-moose-1.5456077">food sovereignty and contamination research</a>.</p>
<p>Noskiye’s stories became central to the research because the trail is on her trapline. She grew up in the area that the trail transects and regularly travelled the trail by horseback. The area is part of her ancestral territory and it is where she and her relatives have always collected food and medicine. Her family camps there every summer in memory of her parents. When Noskiye found a significant portion of the trail logged in September 2020, she described the experience as akin to having her “skin peeled.”</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385423/original/file-20210221-21764-1l1va52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385423/original/file-20210221-21764-1l1va52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385423/original/file-20210221-21764-1l1va52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385423/original/file-20210221-21764-1l1va52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385423/original/file-20210221-21764-1l1va52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385423/original/file-20210221-21764-1l1va52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385423/original/file-20210221-21764-1l1va52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Area of trail that has been logged.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Darren Decoine/Bigstone Cree Nation)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One of the reasons that traditional trails are revered in sakâwiyiniwak (Northern Bush Cree) life is that trails link people and places. This means that ancient, ceremonial, camping and harvesting sites are <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315648468_Walking_the_Land_Aboriginal_Trails_Cultural_Landscapes_and_Archaeological_Studies_for_Impact_Assessment">all joined by trails.</a>People care for and tend to trails as they do berry and medicine patches, and seasonal fishing and hunting camps. </p>
<p>Now the camp where Noskiye grew up, along with a berry patch that she and a group of women actively tended to, has been destroyed. People from this area have a strong preference for, and their identity linked to, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/berry-patches-bears-oil-sands-in-boreal-forest-janelle/id1453126311?i=1000472785877">consuming traditional foods</a> and speaking their language. </p>
<h2>Need to consult</h2>
<p>Indigenous cultural heritage sites are assigned the same level of protection as all other site types like burials, ceremonial sites and cabins as classified by <a href="https://www.alberta.ca/heritage-conservation-protection.aspx">Alberta Heritage Conservation and Protection</a>. They are categorized as Historical Resource Value 4C. </p>
<p>The need for consultation with First Nations and Métis communities and traditional land-use assessment for any proposed development is backed up by the <a href="https://www.alberta.ca/indigenous-consultations-in-alberta.aspx">Government of Alberta’s consultation policies</a>. </p>
<p>Laura Golebiowski, who works as an Aboriginal consultation adviser for the Alberta Historic Resources Management Branch, has been working with Bigstone Cree Nation to record and protect cultural sites.</p>
<p>She said: “Technically, there are punitive measures in the <a href="https://www.qp.alberta.ca/documents/Acts/h09.pdf">Historical Resources Act</a> should a person contravene the act and damage, disturb or destroy historical resources. They can include a fine of not more than $50,000 or imprisonment (maximum one year), or both.” </p>
<p>But these measures have yet to be enacted over any First Nations cultural site. If a community wants to pursue charges under the Historical Resources Act, it has to contact the RCMP to begin the process. The <a href="https://www.alberta.ca/culture-multiculturalism-and-status-of-women.aspx">Ministry of Alberta Culture, Multiculturalism, and Status of Women</a> does not determine if an offence has occurred and whether or not charges should be laid. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381818/original/file-20210201-13-1g0n3ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381818/original/file-20210201-13-1g0n3ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381818/original/file-20210201-13-1g0n3ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381818/original/file-20210201-13-1g0n3ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381818/original/file-20210201-13-1g0n3ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381818/original/file-20210201-13-1g0n3ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381818/original/file-20210201-13-1g0n3ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://theconversation.com/ca/podcasts">Click here to listen to Don’t Call Me Resilient</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Bigstone Cree Nation’s land is on the west side of the Athabasca River and on top of the Athabasca oilsands deposit. The community has repeatedly been left out of Alberta’s decision-making about natural resource extraction. </p>
<p>The lack of recourse for clear violations of the Heritage Act is a deep insult, especially as all leaders have been provided with clear calls to action for participating in the <a href="http://nctr.ca/assets/reports/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf">Truth and Reconciliation</a> process. </p>
<p>Bigstone Cree Nation members continue to do the heavy lifting by monitoring company activities, and trying to protect treaty rights. They increasingly design and manage environmental research based on the Indigenous wisdom that they can trust.</p>
<iframe height="200px" width="100%" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.simplecast.com/65e610f9-842e-4091-b314-c985dc941f17?dark=true"></iframe>
<p><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/dont-call-me-resilient/id1549798876"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321534/original/file-20200319-22606-q84y3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=182&fit=crop&dpr=1" alt="Listen on Apple Podcasts" width="268" height="68"></a>
<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/37tK4zmjWvq2Sh6jLIpzp7"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321535/original/file-20200319-22606-1l4copl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=183&fit=crop&dpr=1" width="268" height="70"></a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154921/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Janelle Marie Baker receives funding from Athabasca University, the Social Sciences, Humanities and Research Council of Canada, and Environment and Climate Change Canada.</span></em></p>
Part of an Indigenous ancestral trail was cleared by a logging company last summer, despite it being a protected cultural site under Alberta law.
Janelle Marie Baker, Assistant Professor, Anthropology, Athabasca University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/149834
2020-12-14T14:32:56Z
2020-12-14T14:32:56Z
How sub-Saharan Africa can rethink its approach to agriculture
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372858/original/file-20201203-21-a8i2uu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">South Africa produces about 16% of sub-Saharan Africa's maize</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>In response to the economic devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic, most sub-Saharan governments are developing economic recovery plans. These will require some different thinking, particularly when it comes to agriculture. <a href="https://wandilesihlobo.com/">Wandile Sihlobo</a>, the chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa, explains to Michael Aliber, a professor of agricultural economics at the University of Fort Hare, what that new thinking might look like.</em></p>
<hr>
<p><strong>You have argued that governments should use the post-COVID environment to think differently about agriculture. What should be done differently?</strong></p>
<p>African governments should have a fresh look at agriculture. This involves embracing technology (information technology, mechanical and biotechnology) and also private sector partnerships. There also needs to be confidence in the citizenry to manage their land parcels. This will involve the granting of title deeds or tradable long-term leases in various African countries. And in the case of better seeds, the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X16000498?via%3Dihub">evidence</a> from South Africa is there for many countries to observe and learn.</p>
<p>The economic recovery from the pandemic therefore presents an opportunity for governments to explore available technologies that could help in the registration of land rights. These include global positioning systems, mapping and blockchain technologies.</p>
<p>This will help solve disputes and also with the tradability of land rights. This process can be piloted on agricultural land. The proper recording and confirmation of land rights will encourage individual entrepreneurs to invest in their farmland and thereby trigger the commercialisation and growth of the agricultural sector.</p>
<p>There are also <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/09/12/who-owns-what">examples of technologies</a> that various countries could use to document land. Examples include the use of drones in India, and aerial photography in Rwanda. This would help change the troubling statistic that roughly <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2020/09/12/the-quest-for-secure-property-rights-in-africa">90% of rural land in Africa is not formally documented</a>.</p>
<p><strong>How would you envisage overcoming the concern that ambitious rights formalisation and documentation strategies tend to extinguish secondary rights, often held by women?</strong></p>
<p>The overall intention is to ensure formalisation of land rights, with the objective of attracting investments in the agricultural sector and unlocking its potential.</p>
<p>Africa has, indeed, a history of disadvantaging women on land matters. Any strategy for the formalisation of land rights will have to be well thought out and transparent. The aim should be to ensure that there isn’t bias towards men and politically connected individuals as has been <a href="https://www.farmersweekly.co.za/opinion/by-invitation/elite-capture-how-land-reform-favours-the-rich-and-powerful/">observed</a> in land reform cases in South Africa.</p>
<p><strong>Are you perhaps placing too much faith in technology?</strong></p>
<p>To date, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230869773_Africa's_inevitable_walk_to_genetically_modified_GM_crops_Opportunities_and_challenges_for_commercialization">South Africa</a> is the only country in sub-Saharan Africa that has embraced biotechnology. This is primarily because it’s the only country in the region that has adopted the use of genetically engineered cotton, maize and soybean seeds. Other countries that have done so include the US, Brazil and Argentina. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21645698.2020.1779574#:%7E:text=In%202018%2C%20the%20total%20global,from%20lower%20costs%20of%20production">In these countries</a>, the use of the genetically engineered seeds has seen lower insecticide use, more environmentally friendly tillage practices and improvements in crop yields.</p>
<p><strong>How productive is sub-Saharan African agriculture relative to other regions of the world? What can be done to improve yields?</strong></p>
<p>There is compelling evidence of the increase in yields within the sub-Saharan Africa region. Consider South Africa. It produces about 16% of sub-Saharan Africa maize, according to the <a href="https://www.igc.int/en/default.aspx">International Grains Council</a>. But it uses a relatively small area of land – an average of 2.5 million hectares since 2010. In contrast, countries such as Nigeria planted 6.5 million hectares in the same production season but only harvested 11 million tonnes of maize. Nigeria’s output equates to 15% of the sub-Saharan region’s maize production.</p>
<p>South Africa <a href="https://www.grainsa.co.za/report-documents?cat=14">began planting</a> genetically engineered maize seeds in the 2001/02 season. Before its introduction, average maize yields were around 2.4 tonnes per hectare. That has now increased to an average of 5.9 tonnes per hectare as of the 2019/20 production season.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the sub-Saharan Africa region’s maize yields remain negligible, <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2019/november/low-growth-in-corn-yields-has-dragged-down-sub-saharan-african-corn-production/">averaging below 2.0 tonnes per hectare</a>.</p>
<p>While yields are also influenced by improved germplasm (enabled by non-GM biotechnology) and improved low- and no-till production methods (facilitated through herbicide tolerant GM technology), other benefits include <a href="https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w23519/w23519.pdf">labour savings, reduced insecticide use, and improved weed and pest control</a>. These labour-saving benefits, also for small-scale livelihood farmers, were also observed in a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X16000498?via%3Dihub">research study</a> in the KwaZulu Natal province of South Africa.</p>
<p>Other countries like Kenya and Nigeria are increasingly field-testing genetically engineered crops. They should accelerate the process, and when it meets their scientific standards, should embark on commercialisation as part of the recovery from the economic slump caused by the pandemic.</p>
<p>Each country will have its domestic regulatory process which safeguards consumers and farmers. But these need not be too prohibitive to the extent that they disadvantage farmers. A case in point is Zimbabwe, where the importation of genetically engineered maize has <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2020-02-09-zimbabwes-decision-to-lift-a-ban-on-gm-maize-imports-could-benefit-south-africa-in-the-near-term/">recently been permitted</a> but planting by domestic farmers is prohibited.</p>
<p><strong>But high yield – that is the amount produced per unit area – typically means high input costs, which is one reason why small-scale farmers’ uptake of these technologies is limited. Also, won’t the emergence of larger and more commercially oriented and technologically capable African farmers result in agriculture absorbing less and less labour?</strong></p>
<p>Africa’s smallholder farmers will generally struggle to access some technologies because of the associated costs. But if the goal is to ensure that the African continent can compete globally with the likes of the US, Brazil and Argentina, among others, then the focus should be on commercialisation of farmers and encourage the economies of scale on the continent. There have to be trade-offs. These include job losses in certain subsectors such as grains as farmers would be adopting more technologies. </p>
<p>But there are potential gains in other subsectors such as horticulture. If supported and developed to scale, these could create large numbers of jobs. Again, a case in point is South Africa, where there were job losses in field crops but horticulture created many jobs.</p>
<p>The key is to ensure job mobility so that people can progressively move to higher paying jobs in agro-processing and other subsectors. </p>
<p>In sum, this is not to mean we should move away from smallholder farming per se. We need a <a href="https://wandilesihlobo.com/2018/11/18/perspectives-on-farm-sizes/">mixed farming system</a>. Where conditions allow, commercialisation at large scale should be encouraged. This is precisely the case in Brazil, where there is a mixed farming system.</p>
<p><em>Wandile Sihlobo is the author of <a href="https://www.panmacmillan.co.za/authors/wandile-sihlobo/finding-common-ground/9781770107168">Finding Common Ground: Land, Equity, and Agriculture</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/149834/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Aliber has from time-to-time received research funding from government and non-government funding sources. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wandile Sihlobo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
As African economies recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, governments should explore technologies like global positioning systems and blockchain for use in the registration of land rights.
Michael Aliber, Professor of Agricultural Economics, University of Fort Hare
Wandile Sihlobo, Visiting Research Fellow, Wits School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/138625
2020-06-29T15:33:07Z
2020-06-29T15:33:07Z
Community forestry can work, but plans in the Democratic Republic of Congo show what’s missing
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344054/original/file-20200625-33515-1h6ndc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Discussing and agreeing on the boundaries of the community concession is a key first step towards official status for these communities in Yanonge, DRC.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">CIFOR/Axel Fassio</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Congo river basin spans six central African countries: Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of Congo. It is known as <a href="https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/january-2008/saving-africa%E2%80%99s-forests-%E2%80%98lungs-world%E2%80%99">“Africa’s lung”</a> because it hosts the world’s second largest tropical forest. It <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/11/deforestation-africa-palm-oil/">covers an area</a> of around 3 million square kilometres – almost the size of India.</p>
<p>This massive forest acts as a huge “<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00423-8">carbon sink</a>”, trapping carbon dioxide and storing it as biomass. It’s home to <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/places/congo-basin">rich and unique</a> flora and fauna, and sustains and shelters millions of people, providing for their needs in food and energy.</p>
<p>Deforestation rates are still low compared to other tropical regions, but population growth, national industrial development plans, and smaller-scale <a href="https://rainforests.mongabay.com/congo/deforestation.html">production</a> of charcoal, crops, minerals, timber and wild meat are rapidly <a href="http://www.cifor.org/publications/pdf_files/OccPapers/OP-144.pdf">increasing the pressure</a> on the forest.</p>
<p>In particular, most communities clear forests for agriculture and related subsistence activities – such as charcoal making and artisanal logging – to make a living. These are today among the <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/11/eaat2993">top drivers</a> of forest disturbance.</p>
<p>The good news is that potential solutions to decrease such disturbances exist. Community forestry models included in the legal frameworks of most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and <a href="https://www.cifor.org/knowledge/publication/1285/">beyond</a> are among them. Models vary, but in general community forestry means the government grants communities rights over a given area which they must manage sustainably. </p>
<p><a href="https://rightsandresources.org/en/publication/globalcarbonbaseline2018/#.W5aLhZNKiRs">Formal rights</a> is the key here, as community forest titles do not always come with the full “<a href="https://www.cifor.org/publications/pdf_files/Books/BLarson1201.pdf">bundle of rights</a>” such as access and use rights to management, exclusion and alienation. </p>
<p>In Cameroon, for example, communities are granted the right to establish and manage a community forest, but no tenure is given. In other words, the state can decide at any time to convert the granted area to non-forest uses.</p>
<p>In the Democractic Republic of the Congo (DRC) things are different. There, <a href="https://www.rainforestfoundationuk.org/communityforests">millions of hectares</a> of forests are potentially available for communities. They can ask the government to grant them - in perpetuity and with use and management rights - community concessions up up to 50,000 hectares, roughly the size of Kinshasa. </p>
<p>This means – for the first time – granting communities formal rights to the forests they have inhabited since time immemorial, including the very important right of recourse if unauthorised resource extraction occurs.</p>
<p>We conducted <a href="https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol24/iss1/art6/">research</a> on the DRC model, and we found a lot of potential but also some weaknesses which we believe need redressing. The most serious was that estimates on the financial returns of the business models that communities plan to adopt are rarely conducted. </p>
<p>It’s essential that this is done so that planners can balance local income and sustainable management. Communities <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/book/3090">will be</a> more likely to protect forest resources, and possibly even restore already degraded lands, if they perceive direct benefits to their livelihoods.</p>
<h2>What needs fixing</h2>
<p>Communities usually choose what activities they want to conduct and where, but they must respect a management plan which is established by a managing committee, elected by the community itself.</p>
<p>Success or failure depends on a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08941920500323260">multitude of locally determined variables</a>, for instance what resources exist or how well organised the community is. There’s no silver bullet solution and it is generally a long-term process.</p>
<p>Yet after tenure rights are secured, the next step is to select and maintain a sustainable business model and a solid governance structure. This is where most current models <a href="https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol16/iss1/art8/">need improving</a> to make a difference. </p>
<p>Two crucial fronts are worth mentioning.</p>
<p>Firstly, <a href="https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol24/iss1/art6/">the extravagant</a> costs of creating and managing a community concession must be vastly reduced. For instance, obtaining and using a legal title may cost up to US$150,000 on account of associated expenses, such as detailed mapping and inventory of the area. This is unthinkable for any community which struggles to get by daily. </p>
<p>Costs can be reduced by simplifying or delaying legal constraints. For example, communities could be authorised to start earning money under the community model, while preparing light inventories and simplified management plans of the area. More details will be added as time goes by.</p>
<p>Second, tenure rights are indeed a great first step, but communities need to see some economic benefit materialising in the short term. Why would they take the trouble to get a legal title if it did not bring them similar or more benefits than the activities they were already conducting in the forests? Among these activities are artisanal logging, charcoal-making, hunting and agriculture. </p>
<p>But who knows what benefits are there now and what there will be when the community concession is granted?</p>
<p>This is not a rhetorical question. We are currently working closely with one community, and it has already taken us about a year just to crunch numbers with them and see whether their community concession would make sense. It’s a tedious and long process, but one that must be done upfront and not kept as a second-order objective as is largely <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334729658_Cartographie_des_acteurs_de_la_Foresterie_Communautaire_en_RDC_-_un_apercu_des_intervenants_de_la_vision_et_les_defis_dans_sa_mise_en_oeuvre">the case</a>. </p>
<p>Sustainability and forest conservation are nice concepts, but they must be translated into the local livelihoods’ language to work in the long term.</p>
<p>Local engagement and understanding are key. Introducing a package of incentives and disincentives which make the model work at the community level is indeed a complex task, but one which will deliver a much sought after right to the land in the first place. And – if well conceived and followed through – it could improve local livelihoods and reduce deforestation and degradation in large swaths of the Congo Basin forest.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138625/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The research and development activities conducted on the topics discussed in this article are supported by the European Union and by the CGIAR Research Programme on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry through the FORETS project (Formation, Recherche et Environnement dans la Tshopo, DRC, <a href="http://www.cifor.org/forets">www.cifor.org/forets</a>).</span></em></p>
Forests must improve communities’ livelihoods to rise as a sustainable management solution
Paolo Omar Cerutti, Senior Scientist, Centre for International Forestry Research
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/127627
2019-12-08T07:14:49Z
2019-12-08T07:14:49Z
Global and historical lessons on how land reforms have unfolded
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304883/original/file-20191203-67002-4br5uv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Large estates in Vietnam were collectivised.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>What can South Africa learn about land reforms from wider global and historical experiences in the 20th century? Most land reforms have involved transferring rights of ownership from wealthy landlords to poor, small-scale farmers working the land under various kinds of tenancy arrangements. These are often described as “land to the tiller” reforms. </p>
<p>Much less common are redistributive reforms that resettle small farmers on large estates subdivided into smaller plots. Southern Africa, the Africa of “settler states”, is something of an outlier in this respect.</p>
<p>Changes in the distribution, character and legal status of rights to land and natural resources, as well as in the class character and productivity of the agrarian economy, have powerfully shaped the modern world. Land reform has played a central role in the transition from pre-capitalist forms of economy to capitalism. Before capitalism, classes of unproductive landed property dominated the countryside.</p>
<h2>Reform and revolution</h2>
<p>Two revolutionary convulsions, in Mexico in 1910 and in Russia in 1917, saw peasants play key roles in the overthrow of autocratic states. They were replaced by popular democracy in Mexico and socialism in Russia. In both cases the mass of the population was engaged in small-scale peasant farming.</p>
<p>Power and wealth in the countryside were concentrated in the hands of a small landowning elite. Radical redistributive land reforms were driven “from below” and large areas of land were transferred to the rural poor. Subsequent developments in Mexico, however, saw the takeover of the agrarian economy by large-scale capital. The fate of the Russian peasantry was even more tragic.</p>
<p>After the second world war, pressures for decolonisation and national liberation increased dramatically. European colonial powers had to give up their direct control of large areas of the world. Tensions between the capitalist West and the communist bloc led by the Soviet Union heightened – the Cold War period.</p>
<p>In the former colonies, most people were still engaged in small-scale farming. Land reform featured strongly in many national liberation struggles, described by the anthropologist Eric Wolf as <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-asian-studies/article/peasant-wars-of-the-twentieth-century-by-eric-r-wolf-new-york-harper-row-1969-xv-328-pp-bibliography-index-paperback-np/85F7B814F932B58BB58F1624DCD503B1">“peasant wars”</a>. It also formed a focus of post-independence policy. In most cases these were “land to the tiller”-type reforms. Large estates in Vietnam, Algeria and Cuba were collectivised by socialist governments.</p>
<p>In China, land reform initially involved “land to the tiller”. Collectivisation followed, and from 1978, in the <a href="http://www.china.org.cn/features/60years/2009-09/16/content_18534697.htm">Household Responsibility System</a>, land ownership remained with the collective. Currently, of course, China is encouraging capitalist farming.</p>
<p>In Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, agrarian reform helped to consolidate capitalism. It underwrote rapid industrialisation, with reforms driven from above by authoritarian states, backed by occupying United States forces. This was designed to pre-empt a turn to communism. Powerful landlords were expropriated and their land redistributed to tenants. Technological innovation raised productivity. </p>
<p>But the capitalists ended up appropriating the agricultural surplus. This process was made possible by administered prices, taxation and supplies of cheap rural labour to emerging industries.</p>
<h2>The 1980s</h2>
<p>The 1980s saw something of a hiatus. The “developmental state” gave way to neoliberal, market-oriented reforms. But in a few countries openings were created for radical reform. These included Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, the Philippines and Zimbabwe. In the 1990s, large-scale peasant mobilisations took place in Indonesia and Honduras.</p>
<p>From 1990, after the collapse of Soviet-style communism, the US and the World Bank promoted a “new wave” of land reform. This was a way to consolidate capitalist property relations.</p>
<p>In southern Africa, for example, where redistributive land reform was necessary because of historical legacies, the advocates of “new wave” reform sought to avoid expropriation. They argued instead for policies based on “willing sellers and willing buyers”. This influenced negotiated transitions and land reform policies in Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa.</p>
<p>Since the 1980s and the rise of neoliberalism, many developing countries have strongly promoted large-scale, commercial and export-oriented farming. With capitalism now hegemonic, the terrain on which land reform takes place has been dramatically altered. </p>
<p>But these shifts haven’t been uncontested. Global social movements such as <a href="https://viacampesina.org/en/">Via Campesina</a>, the “way of the peasant”, have emerged to resist neoliberal-style reform. They urge redistribution of land to the poor.</p>
<p>At the same time, new issues loom large within debates on land reform. Gender equity and claims to resources by indigenous peoples are two. They also include the unequal and often unhealthy character of global agro-food systems, and environmental sustainability.</p>
<p>Comparing these experiences, what can we conclude?</p>
<p>It seems to me that South Africa’s land reform is pre-eminently driven by the state. But the state has been captured by elite interests.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, in some cases land reform has been followed by significant reductions of rural poverty. Land reform has also resulted in increased productivity, output and income. These changes have made a significant contribution to development more generally. </p>
<p>There have also been many disappointing outcomes. These include little or no reduction in rural poverty. And the benefits of reform have in some cases been captured by the relatively wealthy.</p>
<h2>Class bias and elite capture</h2>
<p>Land reform in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Mozambique is quite distinctive in some ways, and typical in others. It is distinctive in its focus on breaking up large and productive farms. It is somewhat muted in rural struggles and hence its state-driven character, with Zimbabwe as a partial exception. It is also muted in its ambitions to undertake both redistribution and tenure reform on a large scale. South Africa has the added complication of restitution.</p>
<p>Land reform in southern Africa is not at all distinctive in the fate of land reform being closely tied to shifts in wider political economy. Hence the class bias and elite capture. Neither is it distinctive in its turn away from small-scale farmers towards large-scale capitalist agriculture. Again, in this Zimbabwe is unique.</p>
<p>The bigger unresolved issue of land reform in the 21st century is the need to confront the overwhelming threat of ecological collapse. South Africa’s rural reforms have not yet done so. Asking questions about how to address this challenge is an urgent task.</p>
<p><strong>This is an extract from a recent <a href="https://www.plaas.org.za/land-reform-accumulation-and-social-reproduction-public-lecture-by-prof-ben-cousins/">lecture </a> delivered by Professor Cousins at the University of the Western Cape.</strong></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127627/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Cousins receives funding from the National Research Foundation.</span></em></p>
Land reform has always been closely tied to shifts in the wider political economy of countries.
Ben Cousins, Professor, Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/110186
2019-01-24T18:42:50Z
2019-01-24T18:42:50Z
Hidden women of history: Mary Jane Cain, land rights activist, matriarch and community builder
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255291/original/file-20190124-135148-1233kz2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mary Jane Cain (centre) with granddaughters Miley Barker and Molly Chatfield and her great niece Josephine.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">The sun dancin' : people and place Coonabarabran (Aboriginal Studies Press, 1994)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For the communities of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coonabarabran">Coonabarabran</a> in New South Wales and her grasslands Gomeroi people, Mary Jane Cain is a revered figure. Cain lived from 1844 to 1929. In the late 1880s, she successfully advocated for Aboriginal land security – a rare concession to an Aboriginal woman at the time. In 1920, she penned a 23-page manuscript detailing her life, her observations of new land owners and their workers, and a list of Gomeroi words.</p>
<p>She was born when frontier violence was at its zenith. Decades long guerrilla warfare had raged as the Gomeroi people resisted <a href="https://c21ch.newcastle.edu.au/colonialmassacres/map.php">pastoral invasion and violent recriminations</a>. Some estimate <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2393483.The_Other_Side_of_the_Frontier">as few as 10% of the Aboriginal populations</a> survived these killing times.</p>
<p>Mary Jane Cain’s mother, Jinnie Griffin, <a href="http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/_transcript/2015/D00428/a2094.html.">a “full blood”</a> whose life likely spanned pre and post-contact, had married an Irishman, Eugene Griffin. They moved between Mudgee and Coonabarabran where they operated, for a time, as travelling sales people. After being held up by bushrangers, they spent decades working on pastoral runs – Jinnie as a shepherd and Eugene as a dairyman. At the time of Mary Jane’s birth, they’d been working on Toorawindi property for some years.</p>
<p>The advent of gold mining in 1852 marked a significant shift on the pastoral frontier. As Cain wrote in her 1920 manuscript, all the white people working on one station “left to go mining”. Renewed interest in Aboriginal people as shepherds and stock workers contributed to an easing in frontier violence on Gomeroi lands. This created opportunities for Aboriginal families to get back to their country, but in very different circumstances – as workers, generally without pay.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254859/original/file-20190122-100261-do9x9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254859/original/file-20190122-100261-do9x9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254859/original/file-20190122-100261-do9x9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=953&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254859/original/file-20190122-100261-do9x9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=953&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254859/original/file-20190122-100261-do9x9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=953&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254859/original/file-20190122-100261-do9x9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1198&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254859/original/file-20190122-100261-do9x9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1198&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254859/original/file-20190122-100261-do9x9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1198&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A page of Mary Jane Cain’s hand written manuscript.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">State Library of NSW.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>By the 1880s Cain had begun agitating for Aboriginal land rights. The 1890s depression caused a further wave of displacement of Aboriginal workers. In this context, the Aboriginal Protection Board emerged, partly in response to rising numbers of Aboriginal people now relegated to the fringes of towns. The board introduced ways to control Aboriginal populations including containment on reserves. </p>
<p>Mary Jane had married Aboriginal stockman George Cain in 1865 at Weetalabah station, where they were both living and working, in the home’s “best parlour”. By the 1880s she was living closer to town and shepherded her goats to the mountains and back each day. Her husband Joe became unwell and <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/11571562?selectedversion=NBD10759174">as she wrote to the Crown</a>, she needed to secure land to support him and her nine children. She petitioned for land at Forky Mountain, about six miles from Coonabarabran, where she could run her goats.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hidden-women-of-history-ruby-lindsay-one-of-australias-first-female-graphic-designers-109184">Hidden women of history: Ruby Lindsay, one of Australia's first female graphic designers</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The politics of land</h2>
<p>In February 1892, Cain secured 400 acres. Further land grants in 1902, 1906 and 1911 saw her recover 600 acres that became home to displaced Aboriginal families up until the late 1950s. These families made homes from kerosene tins lined with glued sheets of newspaper, grew vegies, milked their cows, hosted pantomimes and lived lives <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/11571562?selectedversion=NBD10759174">recalled with enormous fondness</a>. Over this site, Mary Jane Cain was Queen.</p>
<p>Cain’s grandchildren <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/11571562?selectedversion=NBD10759174">all recalled</a> “multiple letters” from Cain addressed “to the Queen” (Victoria) requesting the land at Forky Mountain and her trips to Sydney to meet with government officials to petition for her land. Her <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/11571562?selectedversion=NBD10759174">descendants emphasised</a> that Queen Victoria granted Cain land to manage as a place “for the dark people to live on”.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255292/original/file-20190124-135157-1dwnyho.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255292/original/file-20190124-135157-1dwnyho.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255292/original/file-20190124-135157-1dwnyho.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=752&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255292/original/file-20190124-135157-1dwnyho.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=752&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255292/original/file-20190124-135157-1dwnyho.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=752&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255292/original/file-20190124-135157-1dwnyho.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=945&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255292/original/file-20190124-135157-1dwnyho.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=945&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255292/original/file-20190124-135157-1dwnyho.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=945&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mary Jane Cain, right, and grandsons George and James.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The sun dancin' : people and place in Coonabarabran (Aboriginal Studies Press, 1994).</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While Aboriginal reserves and missions are often viewed as sites of segregation and genocidal violence, Mary Jane Cain’s story highlights the economic, social and political context that saw reserves, at least initially, self-selected and defended by Aboriginal families; where Aboriginal worlds survived and where political organisation occurred. </p>
<p>In NSW, of the 85 Aboriginal reserves created in the period 1885 to 1895 more than half (47) <a href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/academic-professional/cultural-studies/Contested-Ground-Edited-by-Ann-McGrath-9781863736466">were initiated by Aboriginal families</a>. The new interest in taking up reserves coincided with a downturn in the two dominant economies – pastoralism and gold mining. Land likely represented an option for Aboriginal security in the wake of decades of colonial violence and disease that caused loss of land, people and livelihood.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hidden-women-of-history-elsie-masson-photographer-writer-intrepid-traveller-107808">Hidden women of history: Elsie Masson, photographer, writer, intrepid traveller</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>‘Queen Mary Jane’</h2>
<p>Cain’s grandchildren, Julia and Violet Robinson, Ethel Sutherland, Joe Cain and Emily Chatfield share generous and proud stories of “Queen” Mary Jane: she was a great cook, hand stitched marvellous outfits from hessian and old sugar bags and ran a large, immaculately scrubbed, loving home.</p>
<p>They loved her dearly and worked hard to fetch her goats from the mountains; they say she dressed beautifully and descriptions of her “sharp features” suggest they thought her beautiful. She was generous and kind, loaned money to those in need, and welcomed all to Burra Bee Dee (as the Aboriginal reserve was known from 1912). She was Queen of the reserve and Queen in the eyes of her family.</p>
<p>“Queen” was clearly a title Mary Jane was comfortable with: her 1920 manuscript is annotated at page 23 “by M.J. Cain, Queen 1920”. Available studio photos show a regal figure and flanked by her grandsons in military uniform, her own clothing and stature match this formal authority.</p>
<p>Visiting missionaries to Burra Bee Dee in 1909 were also reminded and duly acknowledged her Queen status. They fondly reported on the performances, poetry recital, dancing and the singing, at the end of a long evening, of God Save the King. Mary Jane Cain implored a further and final recital in her honour: God Save the Queen. They obliged.</p>
<p>She also held a powerful place in white society. After her death in 1929, the Coonabarabran Times <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/11571562?selectedversion=NBD10759174">described Mary Jane as being</a>, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>known and loved by all from a very great distance round this district and outside it … and a word against her, … would have evoked the undying hostility from the oldest and most respected families of the North Western slopes and Central West.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hidden-women-of-history-hop-lin-jong-a-chinese-immigrant-in-the-early-days-of-white-australia-108744">Hidden women of history: Hop Lin Jong, a Chinese immigrant in the early days of White Australia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Cain’s keen sense of justice is evident in one entry in her 1920 manuscript where she refers to organising a petition in 1864 “which everyone signed” in defence of two brothers and “a young [‘half caste’] man … whom they hired” who had been wrongly arrested and charged for cattle stealing.</p>
<p>She <a href="http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/_transcript/2015/D00428/a2094.html.">writes that</a>: “I presented the petition to Thomas Gordon Danger who was at that time member of Parliament”, which had the effect of reducing their sentence and “them liberated at five years”. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255317/original/file-20190124-135130-106owjj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255317/original/file-20190124-135130-106owjj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255317/original/file-20190124-135130-106owjj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255317/original/file-20190124-135130-106owjj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255317/original/file-20190124-135130-106owjj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255317/original/file-20190124-135130-106owjj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255317/original/file-20190124-135130-106owjj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255317/original/file-20190124-135130-106owjj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mary Jane Cain Bridge over the Castlereagh River in NSW.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Aboriginal people negotiated the rapid change to their worlds as the grasslands country came to be intensively farmed. At Burra Bee Dee and through the oral history of Mary Jane Cain’s descendants we hear the stories of matriarchs who acquired the skills of the new world – literacy, shepherding and stock work, knowledge of political systems and how to effect change – and who built ways to sustain Aboriginal worlds in dramatically altered circumstances.</p>
<p>Today, after several years of careful community work, the history of Burra Bee Dee is beautifully documented with signage and photos detailing where families lived. The adjacent cemetery is a site of return for many generations to come. The bridge over the Castlereagh river bears Mary Jane’s name, the local rotary club has installed a plaque in her honour and <a href="https://mgnsw.org.au/articles/warwick-keen-and-burra-bee-dee/">her life has inspired an art exhibition</a>. Still, the story of this matriarch and queen to her people deserves to be more widely told.</p>
<p><em>Professor Heidi Norman is a descendant of the Gomeroi people. Her Nan’s uncle (Charles Ruttley) married Mary Jane’s daughter (Eliza Josephine).</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110186/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heidi Norman receives funding from Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>
In the late 1880s, Gomeroi woman Mary Jane Cain began petitioning Britain for land rights. A matriarch and Queen to her people, she recovered 600 acres that became home to displaced Aboriginal families.
Heidi Norman, Professor, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Technology Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/100178
2018-07-30T13:54:28Z
2018-07-30T13:54:28Z
The projects that are helping Zambian women get better access to land
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228199/original/file-20180718-142435-s4bwq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A female farmer in Zambia tends to her crops.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Margaret W. Nea/Bread for the World/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When a woman has access to and control over land and its revenue streams, she and her family benefit. Multiple studies <a href="https://www.land-links.org/issue-brief/fact-sheet-land-tenure-womens-empowerment/">have shown</a> how women invest their land-based earnings in the health, nutrition and education of family members. </p>
<p>But for this to happen, customs that favour granting land to men must be altered. This requires both structural change, through for example government policies, and socio-cultural change. </p>
<p>The Zambian government has worked with civil society organisations to create a gender equality and land governance framework. Civil society organisations have used their social networks and through capacity building programmes pursue gender equality in the allocation of land in customary tenure systems.</p>
<p>I set out to study some of these programmes. In a recent <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09614524.2018.1480896">article</a>, I documented how women gain access to land in areas of Zambia where access is governed by traditional leaders and local customs. I was specifically interested in the role that civil society organisations play in strengthening women’s land rights in these areas. </p>
<p>Civil society organisations and their donors engage in five key activities that help women get access to land. They build and maintain regional and national networks; they document customary land rights and they train chiefs about gender equality. They also support men and women to work collectively within the home, and empower women to work together on pieces of land.</p>
<p>These activities show how civil society can support and expand the space for women’s land rights. Working with inter-generational family networks also might expand women’s access to economically-productive resources such as land. </p>
<p>Women’s rights organisations in other countries might draw on the Zambian experience, tailoring it to the local socio-economic and historical context within which they work.</p>
<h2>Customary law</h2>
<p>Zambia has two categories of land, state land and customary land. State land includes land in urban areas and land used for mining or nature conservation.</p>
<p>Customary land is administered by traditional leaders, such as chiefs and headpersons, according to customary law that is unwritten and based on local customs. Customary law is valid under <a href="http://www.parliament.gov.zm/sites/default/files/documents/amendment_act/Constitution%20of%20Zambia%20%20%28Amendment%29%2C%202016-Act%20No.%202_0.pdf">the Constitution</a>. Any customary practice that contradicts the constitution is illegal. </p>
<p>Women in customary tenure systems have what are called secondary land rights. This is because Zambia’s <a href="http://www.mocta.gov.zm/index.php/house-of-chiefs">288 chiefs</a>, and village headpersons, handle land issues and generally grant occupancy and use rights to men because they’re considered the head of household. A woman tends to get access by asking her husband, or another male relative, to use a portion of the allocated land. </p>
<p>Gender activists are working to increase the prevalence of women as primary land rights holders. Their work is being helped by the fact that Zambia has a supportive policy environment thanks to the <a href="http://www.parliament.gov.zm/sites/default/files/documents/amendment_act/Constitution%20of%20Zambia%20%20%28Amendment%29%2C%202016-Act%20No.%202_0.pdf">2016 Constitution</a> and the government’s <a href="http://extwprlegs1.fao.org/docs/pdf/zam152916.pdf">gender policy</a>.</p>
<p>The policies, together with a network of women and gender-oriented civil society organisations, have created momentum for legal reform and new measures to promote gender equality in the land sector. Chiefs, court officials, and men and women at the grassroots level have access to new tools to reconceptualise how men and women might work, live and develop their communities together. </p>
<h2>Documenting and training</h2>
<p>Changing the land use pattern faces a number of challenges. One of them is that there isn’t proper documentation of boundaries, or even of who has rights to what. </p>
<p>For example customary land in Zambia is neither systematically mapped nor registered. This leaves boundaries between individual plots unclear. </p>
<p>International organisations are working with chiefs and community groups like the <a href="http://www.zla.org.zm/">Zambia Land Alliance</a> to create what are known as Traditional Land Holding Certificates. These recognise land rights at either the individual or household level. Certifications clarify rights, verify claims through boundary demarcation, and end with the issuance of a certificate. The certificates allow a woman’s name to be listed as the land’s “primary” rights holder. </p>
<p>The certificate is designed to reduce property grabbing and the <a href="https://www.land-links.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/USAID_Land_Tenure_World_Bank_2016_Zambia_Open_Source.pdf">common practice</a> of expelling a woman from a piece of land after her husband’s death. Establishing a system that registers these certificates and makes rights public would mean that women have a better chance of being protected.</p>
<p>Another major gap is knowledge. Chiefs don’t always know what the country’s policies and laws entail. Civil society organisations routinely hold provincial-level training for chiefs to explain women’s land rights. This isn’t always easy. One chief stated that “men need a bigger area” of land to cultivate than women do. </p>
<p>Gender rights activists try to identify more progressive chiefs who are willing to change local practice and tell men not to deny their partners’ land. </p>
<h2>Collaboration</h2>
<p>Getting men and women to work together when it comes to land is also a valuable intervention.</p>
<p>In many communities, husbands instruct their wives where to plant their crops. And when the cropping season is over, a woman might not be allowed to cultivate that same plot again and the husband will take it for his own cultivation. </p>
<p>One civil society organisation brings husbands and wives together and encourages them to own land and cultivate together. Bringing men and women within the household rather than maintaining separate fields closes the gender gap in land.</p>
<p>Another type of programme works through village-level groups that promote women’s collective access to land. Groups might ask their chief for a piece of land for growing crops or other income generating activities such as pig or goat rearing. If a widow’s relatives grab the property after her husband’s death, group leaders can intervene and help her keep her house and then allow her to cultivate a plot on the group’s land. </p>
<p>Some organisations offer training in financial management, legal awareness, and leadership. Women then use these skills to organise, to obtain and maintain control over land and to be less dependent on men. Access to resources is based on relationships. Sustainable land rights programming and gender-equality initiatives must change not only how women think and behave but men too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100178/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cynthia Caron received funding from The Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) and provides technical assistance to USAID on its land tenure programming.</span></em></p>
Civil society organisations in Zambia help women get access to land.
Cynthia Caron, Assistant Professor, Clark University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/95950
2018-05-14T14:47:04Z
2018-05-14T14:47:04Z
Why merely owning land isn’t enough to empower Africa’s women farmers
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217228/original/file-20180502-153878-umakca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A woman harvests groundnuts in Malawi. Land ownership does not automatically empower women.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">ILRI/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the agricultural sector – the <a href="http://www.fao.org/docrep/015/i2490e/i2490e01b.pdf">major employer</a> for poor people in Africa – assets like land and livestock are owned and controlled mainly by men. </p>
<p>It makes sense, then, that many donors, national governments and civil society groups <a href="http://www.fao.org/resilience/news-events/detail/en/c/147997/">believe</a> rebalancing asset and land ownership in favour of women will greatly empower women. The argument is that increasing women’s access, control and ownership of land will lead to stronger bargaining power and higher incomes. It is also <a href="http://www.fao.org/resilience/news-events/detail/en/c/147997/">posited</a> as a way to strengthen women’s “voice” within households and communities. </p>
<p>But the reality in communities is very different. Our recent book, <a href="http://fdslive.oup.com/www.oup.com/academic/pdf/openaccess/9780198799290.pdf">Agriculture, Diversification and Gender in Rural Africa</a>, drew on a unique, longitudinal data set covering around 2000 households in 15 regions in six countries: Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia. This data, coupled with <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837717306683">more detailed qualitative research carried out in three villages</a> in Malawi, highlights the limitations of approaches that rely on gender based redistribution of land from men to women.</p>
<p>We found that even when women own land, their husbands are still perceived as household heads. As such, men have better access to public resources such as subsidised fertilisers and agricultural advisory services. </p>
<p>The findings suggest that genuinely empowering women and girls within agriculture requires interventions that go beyond the issue of land redistribution. Instead, policymakers and development agencies should adopt a multifaceted approach that includes aspects beyond agriculture. These include issues of sexual and reproductive rights, for instance, and freeing women from the heavy and time consuming drudgery of domestic work in poor, rural settings. </p>
<h2>Ownership and demands on women’s time</h2>
<p>Female landholders have less land than men in five of the six countries we studied. This means they have lower access to one of the most important resources in rural Africa. </p>
<p>The quantitative data we collected confirms the existence of gender based gaps in farm sizes - female landholders have smaller farms in all countries except Kenya. And the gaps have grown in most of the regions since 2002, when the study started. In countries where average farm sizes have increased – Ghana, Zambia and Tanzania – men have tended to benefit more from this growth than women. </p>
<p>In parts of Malawi and Zambia matrilineal systems mean that women control and inherit land. But this hasn’t made a real difference to women’s lives. This is because of their other responsibilities, as well as societal bias and pressures.</p>
<p>Then there’s the issue of the responsibilities that women bear which interfere with their ability to focus on the business of farming. Through qualitative interviews in the three Malawian communities, we discovered that there are many demands on women’s time and labour outside agriculture. Women are expected to care for ill relatives, especially children and infants. Other demands are the need to collect firewood and water.</p>
<p>A woman cannot juggle these demands with participating fully in agricultural production, even if she is the owner of the land. Gender norms around the division of labour enable men to avoid time consuming domestic work. </p>
<p>Women’s relative lack of empowerment is also related to their limited mobility, which makes it harder for them to reach markets. Women are fettered by their domestic responsibilities, controlling husbands and by the potential dangers of moving around on their own, especially at night. </p>
<p>This means that women don’t have the actual power to control the income from products sold in agricultural markets.</p>
<p>Men’s relative superiority within the household and local communities is compounded by government policies that strengthen the male household head norm. For instance, governments divert substantial public resources into subsidisation programmes that favour household heads.</p>
<p>These programmes also withdraw resources earmarked for agricultural extension services for women. This means that areas that lose funding are those that would empower women – not in terms of land ownership, but in terms of support.</p>
<h2>Sustainable solutions</h2>
<p>These findings suggest that empowering women farmers requires more than just ensuring they own land and assets. Women need support to deal with the many demands on their time. For example, addressing poor health among children might free up more time for women farmers who are also mothers. Improving women’s ability to get around easily is also important.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/95950/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This article draws on work from rural Malawi by Agnes Andersson Djurfeldt, Ellen Hillbom, Wapulumuka Mulwafu, Peter Mvula and Göran Djurfeldt (<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837717306683">https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837717306683</a>) and a book co-edited by Agnes Andersson Djurfeldt, Fred Mawunyo Dzanku and Aida Cuthbert Isinika.
Both of these contributions are based on collaborative work in the context of the Afrint project, an African-Swedish research project that has been running since 2002 <a href="https://www.keg.lu.se/en/research/research-projects/current-research-projects/afrint">https://www.keg.lu.se/en/research/research-projects/current-research-projects/afrint</a>
Funding for the Afrint project has been awarded by Sida's research council, Vetenskapsrådet, and the UK's Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and UK aid from the UK government. The project is part of two grant schemes, DEGRP (DFID-ESRC Growth Research Programme) jointly funded by the UK's Department for International Development (DFID) and ESRC and APRA (Agricultural Policy Research in Africa) conducted with funding from UKAid from the UK Government. The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect positions or policies of the UK Government, DFID, or ESRC, or the Swedish government, Vetenskapsrådet or Sida.
</span></em></p>
We found that even when women own land, their husbands are still perceived as household heads.
Agnes Andersson Djurfeldt, Professor of Human Geography, Lund University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/93488
2018-03-25T19:00:29Z
2018-03-25T19:00:29Z
The Commonwealth Games of exclusion: what are authorities so afraid of?
<p>Sport, race and racism are entwined. It was always so, and it will always will be so – even in the Commonwealth Games, the event we <a href="https://www.gc2018.com/history-games">dub the “friendly games”</a>. </p>
<p>In a throwback to the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, preparations for next month’s event on the Gold Coast are <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-15/homelessness-increases-across-nsw/9547686">forcing the homeless</a> to move out of town, and even out of the state – to Tweed Heads in New South Wales. Women who run soup kitchens for the poor and indigent have been told to close their shops until these “friendly games” are over.</p>
<h2>Australia, the Commonwealth Games, and race</h2>
<p>In the 1930s, Australia’s sporting authorities deemed the previously named Empire Games worthier than the Olympics. Empire above all else, Australia second, was the motto.</p>
<p>Some British officials even <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=IRE4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT48&lpg=PT48&dq=%E2%80%9Ca+narrower+local+patriotism%E2%80%9D&source=bl&ots=FfzVdHezhX&sig=oFYdQ9wxJEnF1axBSzPK3ojp6vs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiEttfElPzZAhUBTrwKHXiSCzAQ6AEIJzAA#v=snippet&q=british%20empire%20team&f=false">advocated a British Empire Olympic team</a>. The Empire Games appealed to “<a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=IRE4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT48&lpg=PT48&dq=%E2%80%9Ca+narrower+local+patriotism%E2%80%9D&source=bl&ots=FfzVdHezhX&sig=oFYdQ9wxJEnF1axBSzPK3ojp6vs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiEttfElPzZAhUBTrwKHXiSCzAQ6AEIJzAA#v=onepage&q=%E2%80%9Ca%20narrower%20local%20patriotism%E2%80%9D&f=false">a narrower local patriotism</a>” and that was the healthier way to go, The Sydney Morning Herald editorialised, hinting that Australia avoid intimate contact with “foreigners” at the Olympics. But all that changed after the second world war. </p>
<p>The “friendly games” have since tended to be the tense and the nervous games. Race has marred several events. Australia made extraordinary efforts to keep South Africa and (the then) Rhodesia in the fold when no-one else wanted to have dealings with them. </p>
<p>A near-calamitous era for sport resulted from the highly divisive Springbok rugby union tours to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/oct/09/the-1971-springboks-coming-between-these-blokes-and-their-sport-was-the-most-dangerous-thing-ive-done">Australia</a> (1971) and to <a href="https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/1981-springbok-tour">New Zealand</a> (1981), the 28-African nation <a href="http://montrealgazette.com/sports/montreal-olympics-african-boycott-of-1976-games-changed-the-world">boycott of the Montreal Olympics</a> (1976) – because of New Zealand–South Africa rugby ties – and the 61-nation <a href="https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/qfp/104481.htm">boycott of the Moscow Olympics</a> because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1980). </p>
<p>Many will remember Commonwealth Games head Arthur Tunstall <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/arthur-tunstalls-reign-of-error-as-commonwealth-games-chief-20170405-gvdz23.html">threatening to punish</a> Cathy Freeman for wrapping herself in an Aboriginal flag in Canada at the 1994 Games. This was hardly the friendliest event on racial matters, and we can tie them to Moscow.</p>
<p>The Moscow Olympics in 1980 was held at the time of Western outcry at the treatment of “dissidents”, <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Borderline-Views-Remembering-the-Soviet-refuseniks-310720">of <em>refuseniks</em></a> – those refused the right to emigrate to Israel and elsewhere. Aimed mainly at Jews, refusal also applied to Ukrainian Greek Catholics, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Volga Germans. By the time of the Olympics, the ban on Jews had been lifted (largely through Australian-led pressure), but some were still being held as financial hostages. </p>
<p>To give the appearance and the message that Moscow was “clean”, the Soviet regime removed all the “unsightly ones” from that city for the two weeks of sport.</p>
<h2>Remembering the protests of 1982</h2>
<p>Two years after the Moscow Olympics, in September 1982, Brisbane hosted the Commonwealth Games. At the helm of draconian government was Joh Bjelke-Petersen, a fundamentalist Lutheran and a man intolerant of democracy and its institutions. He ruled Queensland from 1968 to 1987. </p>
<p>Bjelke-Petersen <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=G60Cgsnzc7AC&pg=PA225&lpg=PA225&dq=martial+law+1971+queensland&source=bl&ots=ENa3mVD1qk&sig=79MDjlHvxEf_3tvwJs60eYGe__0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwixjr76q_zZAhXDUrwKHdJ3D7UQ6AEIczAJ#v=onepage&q=martial%20law%201971%20queensland&f=false">placed all of Queensland</a> under a state of emergency, declaring martial law, when the Springbok rugby team toured, disastrously for all, in 1971. He made dubious history as the first leader in a democracy to declare a state of emergency in peacetime over a sporting event. Martial law reigned for three weeks to enable matches, with indemnities given to all police against lawsuits.</p>
<p>The Bjelke-Petersen government passed the <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/15140198?q&versionId=17809259">Commonwealth Games Act</a>, a statute not commented on then or later. The law ensured Brisbane was free of Aboriginal people and their “friends”. </p>
<p>Possibly the Western world’s most punitive law on sport, police had the power under the act to declare a state of emergency. It also gave specially deputised non-police full police powers and enabled seizure of people and property “on suspicion”.</p>
<p>The act provided for palm, foot, toe and voice-printing, with a A$2,000 fine or two years’ jail for offences under the act, and disallowed any consequent criminal or civil charges against real or “temporary” police. But human rights organisations – especially the vociferous rights body in Queensland – said nary a word on this statute.</p>
<p>Bjelke-Petersen was adamant there would be no Aboriginal land rights marches in Brisbane at that time, and the statute was meant to ensure that. By coincidence or not, the ABC ran a Saturday-night Four Corners special program on land rights mid-Games, and that led to much press publicity. </p>
<p>I was there, reporting on the event for The Australian. Two land rights marches <a href="https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/articles/2766">took place</a>, peacefully.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211465/original/file-20180321-165557-aql49b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211465/original/file-20180321-165557-aql49b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211465/original/file-20180321-165557-aql49b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211465/original/file-20180321-165557-aql49b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211465/original/file-20180321-165557-aql49b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211465/original/file-20180321-165557-aql49b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211465/original/file-20180321-165557-aql49b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Land rights marches attracted foreign media attention at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Museums Victoria</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Interestingly – but not surprisingly – the British, Canadian and New Zealand journalists were much more interested in learning about the Aboriginal story than in the sporting contests, and I was able to help them file stories of greater import than the discus thrower’s ankle.</p>
<p>Aboriginal protests didn’t stop or disrupt the Games, and police generally behaved politely. True, there was a great deal of camera scrutiny of events. The land rights marches hastened native title change in Queensland, with the Mabo case <a href="https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/articles/mabo-case">starting that year</a> and ending in native title in 1992.</p>
<h2>In America as in Australia</h2>
<p>Atlanta was the low-water mark of a city using <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/01/us/as-olympics-approach-homeless-are-not-feeling-at-home-in-atlanta.html">anti-loitering statutes to keep it “clean” during the 1996 Olympics</a>. Whole suburbs were vacuumed to eliminate the “black spots”, literally.</p>
<p>So, two decades on, what are sports officials and governmental authorities still so afraid of? That we will be seen as a normal country, with normal problems like poverty, homelessness and hunger? </p>
<p>Are we really still mired in the mentality of yesteryear — that the deranged, the mentally ill, the vagrant must be kept out of sight lest they remind us of human frailty?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/93488/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Colin Tatz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Preparations for next month’s Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast are pushing homeless people out of town, and out of the state. Sadly, that’s not unusual for events of this sort.
Colin Tatz, ANU Visiting Professor, Politics and International Relations, Australian National University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/90540
2018-01-27T22:32:54Z
2018-01-27T22:32:54Z
FactCheck: can native title ‘only exist if Australia was settled, not invaded’?
<blockquote>
<p>… there is a fundamental point which goes to the heart of this debate that literally no one, to date, seems to have picked up on … </p>
<p>Native title can only exist if Australia was settled, not invaded.</p>
<p><strong>– Excerpt from an <a href="http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/inconvenient-fact-native-title-can-only-exist-if-australia-was-settled-not-invaded-20180119-h0l9hb.html">opinion piece</a> written by Sherry Sufi, chairman of the WA Liberal Party policy committee, published by Fairfax Media, January 20, 2018</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Every January, the debate about the date of Australia’s national day intensifies. </p>
<p>The current date of Australia Day – January 26 – marks the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of Europeans in Australia. To some Australians, this date is known as <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/explainer/australia-day-invasion-day-survival-day-whats-name">Invasion Day, or Survival Day</a>. </p>
<p>The Australian Greens party has <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/greens-plan-major-new-australia-day-date-change-campaign-20180113-h0hzto.html">renewed its campaign</a> to change the date of Australia Day. Greens leader Richard di Natale has <a href="https://www.facebook.com/senatordinatale/videos/1220755918016000/?hc_ref=ARRqu7WHY_cHrNkb0NkrxROZPiuHnVQvgpR42uowhJ7wk1MnMD4DbCFXklNm1aZf7l0">lent his voice</a> to the argument that January 26 marks “the beginning of an invasion”. </p>
<p>In an <a href="http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/inconvenient-fact-native-title-can-only-exist-if-australia-was-settled-not-invaded-20180119-h0l9hb.html">opinion piece</a>, WA Liberal Party policy committee chairman Sherry Sufi said Di Natale was “attempting to undermine native title by implying that Australia was invaded and conquered”.</p>
<p>Sufi argued that “native title can only exist if Australia was settled, not invaded”.</p>
<p>Let’s look at the law. </p>
<h2>Checking the source</h2>
<p>When asked for sources and comment to support his statement, Sherry Sufi provided this response:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Disclaimer: My article in Fairfax Media and the correspondence with The Conversation are <strong>not</strong> statements on behalf of the WA Liberal Party or any of its constituent bodies. The views expressed are my own. </p>
<p>As one of the 193 member states of the United Nations, Australia exists as part of a rules-based world order. Land conquests through war of aggression were only criminalised after World War II. </p>
<p>This prohibition does not apply retroactively. Doing so would throw the entire world map into turmoil. </p>
<p>It applies on future attempts to conquer. The status quo of international borders at the time was deemed ‘frozen’. Lands conquered before the <a href="http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/kbpact.asp">Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)</a> are deemed lawful conquests.</p>
<p>So it follows that if Australia was invaded, then it has been conquered. This would technically negate claims to separate land rights for descendants of native populations.</p>
<p>Yet the Mabo decision rested on the presumption that Australia was settled, not invaded. Therefore, native title is safe.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>You can read Sufi’s full response and references cited <a href="https://theconversation.com/full-response-from-sherry-sufi-for-a-factcheck-on-native-title-90781">here</a>.</p>
<hr>
<h2>Verdict</h2>
<p>Sherry Sufi’s claim that “native title can only exist if Australia was settled, not invaded” is incorrect.</p>
<p>Native title is the legal recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ property rights to Australian land that existed when the English took possession of the territory in 1788. Native title was recognised by the Australian High Court in the 1992 Mabo case.</p>
<p>Had Australia originally been deemed to be conquered – or “invaded” – rather than settled, native title would indeed have existed.</p>
<p>Under English law, if Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were conquered, they would have retained their interests in land – or native title – under their own laws, until those laws were overturned by the English. </p>
<hr>
<h2>Responding to Sufi’s argument</h2>
<p>As to whether the law deems Australia to have been settled, not invaded, the sources Sufi has cited in his <a href="https://theconversation.com/full-response-from-sherry-sufi-for-a-factcheck-on-native-title-90781">full response</a> to The Conversation are correct. </p>
<p>However, Sufi’s response contains the reason that his claim that “native title can only exist if Australia was settled not invaded” is incorrect. </p>
<p>As Sufi has cited from the <a href="https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/HCA/1992/23.html">1992 Mabo decision</a>, “the acquisition of property [native title] is chiefly the province of the common law”. Following this, Sufi does not examine the common law rules about land ownership that would apply if Australia had been deemed conquered.</p>
<p>This is the missing link in his original argument, and why the claim is incorrect.</p>
<p>In his article, Sufi justified his claim, in part, on the grounds that “international law recognises all territories acquired through invasion and annexation by force, prior to World War II, as lawful conquests”.</p>
<p>Whether or not that statement <em>in itself</em> is accurate is a matter for an international law expert to determine. </p>
<p>Because even <em>if</em> this is <em>now</em> the status of international law, it concerns the basis of sovereignty in modern times. To the extent that the means of acquiring sovereignty is relevant to native title law, it is sovereignty in 1788 that is relevant. </p>
<p>The High Court of Australia in the <a href="https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/HCA/1992/23.html">1992 Mabo decision</a> found that an Australian court does not have the power to challenge the basis on which the English claimed sovereignty in 1788. </p>
<p>The status of Australian land law, including native title, is a different matter: it is determined under domestic law, not international law. Australian courts do have the power to alter domestic law, which is what the Court did in Mabo.</p>
<p>So Sufi’s statement about international law, whether correct or incorrect in itself, is not relevant to native title in Australia. The justification does not stand.</p>
<p>Let’s look at the relevant law. </p>
<h2>Conquest or settlement?</h2>
<p>To assess Sufi’s primary claim, we need to look at what happened when Europeans arrived in Australia in 1788, and at the 1992 Mabo case heard in the Australian High Court, which formed the basis of native title in Australia.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/cth/high_ct/175clr1.html?stem=0&synonyms=0&query=%7Emabo">Mabo case decision</a> is the primary source document for this FactCheck.</p>
<p>In 1788, England sought to establish itself as sovereign – or the governing body – over Australian territory.</p>
<p>There are a number of ways to become sovereign under international law. In considering what happened in Australia in 1788, Justice Brennan – who wrote the leading judgment in Mabo – focused on the three most relevant. They were:</p>
<ul>
<li>conquest – the acquisition of a territory by force, </li>
<li>cession – an existing state transfers sovereignty over its territory to another state, or </li>
<li>occupation – taking possession of a territory not under the control of an existing sovereign. </li>
</ul>
<p>In his article, Sufi talks about the consequences of “invasion”. The international law described in Mabo refers to “conquest” rather than invasion. So that’s the term I’ll use in this FactCheck.</p>
<h2>Fact or legal fiction?</h2>
<p>Of those pathways to becoming sovereign over Australia, the English considered themselves to be 'occupiers’.</p>
<p>The concept of ‘occupation’ relies on the land being ‘terra nullius’ – or belonging to no one. In its literal sense, this means there were no prior inhabitants in the territory.</p>
<p>Of course, that was not the case in Australia – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples had been living in the country for at least <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ben_Marwick2/publication/318562213_Human_occupation_of_northern_Australia_by_65000_years_ago/links/59d14e230f7e9b4fd7fa2697/Human-occupation-of-northern-Australia-by-65-000-years-ago.pdf">65,000 years</a> before the First Fleet arrived.</p>
<p>But the arriving Europeans took the approach that Australia’s Indigenous peoples were “too low in the scale of social organisation to be acknowledged as possessing rights and interests in land”, and were deemed not to have laws, or to be sovereign over Australia. </p>
<p>This allowed for the application of what Justice Brennan described as an “enlarged notion of terra nullius”, and for the English to deem that they had <em>occupied</em> the land.</p>
<p>It’s important to note that in this case, terra nullius, and therefore occupation, is a ‘legal fiction’: an assertion of a state of affairs deemed by the law to be valid, even though it may not be factual.</p>
<h2>Who owns the land?</h2>
<p>Having established sovereignty, England needed to determine what law applied in the new colony – and in particular, what law applied to the ownership of land. </p>
<p>This was a question for <em>English</em> law, rather than international law.</p>
<p>Under English law, in territories that were conquered or ceded, the <a href="https://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/5.%20Recognition%20of%20Aboriginal%20Customary%20Laws%20at%20Common%20Law%3A%20The%20Settled%20Colony%20Debate/se">existing laws of the original inhabitants would continue to apply</a> until they were overturned by the English. </p>
<p>Therefore, if Australia <em>had</em> been deemed to be conquered, or “invaded”, the existing laws of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, including laws about land ownership, would have continued to apply until the English repealed them.</p>
<p>However, for territory that had been occupied or settled – as was declared to be the case in Australia – English law would be imported, including English land law. Under that law, the Crown owned all land. </p>
<h2>The Mabo decision</h2>
<p>These concepts were challenged in the Mabo case in the Australian High Court in 1992.</p>
<p>In the Mabo decision, Justice Brennan stated that the concept of terra nullius ignored the reality of the existing inhabitants of the territory.</p>
<p>The Mabo decision found that the legal fiction that Australia was uninhabited could no longer stand. It acknowledged that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples <em>did</em> have a recognised system of laws.</p>
<p>The Mabo decision did not change the international law position that Australia had been occupied. What the Court did do was create a new English law category for working out what law applied: the territory was settled, but inhabited. </p>
<p>Based on this new category, sovereignty and land ownership were separated. The Crown was no longer automatically the owner of all the land.</p>
<p>Instead, the original occupants of Australia – the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples – remained the owners until the Crown extinguished their interests, or they were otherwise lost. This is native title.</p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>So, what does that all mean for Sufi’s claim?</p>
<p>Sufi said “native title can only exist if Australia was settled, not invaded”.</p>
<p>In 1788 Australia was, under English law, deemed to be settled. In 1992, the Australian High Court deemed Australia to have been settled, but inhabited. Because of that decision, native title as we know it today does exist. Land law stopped being English land law, and became Australian land law. </p>
<p>Had Australia been deemed to be conquered (or “invaded”), the interests in the land – the native title – would also have existed. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples would have continued to own the land until the Crown extinguished those interests.</p>
<p>Either way, whether Australia was deemed to be “invaded” or settled, Australian land law would recognise Indigenous interests in land – that is, it would recognise native title. <strong>– Kate Galloway</strong></p>
<h2>Blind review</h2>
<p>The verdict is clearly correct.</p>
<p>It is not the case that “native title can only exist if Australia was settled, not invaded”. </p>
<p>As this FactCheck points out, it is to the contrary. It has long been a rule of English law that in a colony acquired by conquest the former laws continue to apply until altered by the conqueror, and rights to land continue until they are extinguished. </p>
<p>Some elements of the Mabo decision have been contested by scholars. This is not one of them. It is very clear that native title could exist if Australia were characterised as conquered. <strong>– Leon Terrill</strong></p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/162128/original/image-20170323-13486-72k52f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/162128/original/image-20170323-13486-72k52f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/162128/original/image-20170323-13486-72k52f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162128/original/image-20170323-13486-72k52f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162128/original/image-20170323-13486-72k52f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162128/original/image-20170323-13486-72k52f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162128/original/image-20170323-13486-72k52f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162128/original/image-20170323-13486-72k52f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Conversation FactCheck is accredited by the International Fact-Checking Network.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>The Conversation’s FactCheck unit is the first fact-checking team in Australia and one of the first worldwide to be accredited by the International Fact-Checking Network, an alliance of fact-checkers hosted at the Poynter Institute in the US. <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-conversations-factcheck-granted-accreditation-by-international-fact-checking-network-at-poynter-74363">Read more here</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>Have you seen a “fact” worth checking? The Conversation’s FactCheck asks academic experts to test claims and see how true they are. We then ask a second academic to review an anonymous copy of the article. You can request a check at <a href="mailto:checkit@theconversation.edu.au">checkit@theconversation.edu.au</a>. Please include the statement you would like us to check, the date it was made, and a link if possible.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/90540/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
In an article published in the lead up to Australia Day, WA Liberal Party policy committee chairman Sherry Sufi said “native title can only exist if Australia was settled, not invaded”. Is that right?
Kate Galloway, Associate Professor of Law, Bond University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/86939
2017-11-16T18:14:08Z
2017-11-16T18:14:08Z
How farm dwellers in South Africa think about home, land and belonging
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193778/original/file-20171108-14209-vp5igd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Farm dwellers like Zabalaza Mshengu live in extremely precarious conditions.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Association for Rural Advancement</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Africa’s unemployment rate puts it in the <a href="http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_541211.pdf">bottom ten countries</a> in the world. Hunger levels are growing. It has what Berkeley geography professor Gillian Hart <a href="http://www.academia.edu/30653258/Relational_comparison_revisited_Marxist_postcolonial_geographies_in_practice_2016_">calls</a> a “population surplus to the needs of capital” that must find ways to survive despite living a “<a href="http://www.academia.edu/30653258/Relational_comparison_revisited_Marxist_postcolonial_geographies_in_practice_2016_">wageless existence</a>.”</p>
<p>This is happening against the backdrop of three unfolding social processes. </p>
<p>The first involves deteriorating conditions for survival. A new social category is emerging called the “precariat”: growing numbers of people who struggle to secure the conditions for their survival through traditional means like permanent work. Instead, more and more people survive through multiple jobs that are part-time, insecure and precarious. Guy Standing, who is a professor of economy security at Bath University and coined the term, estimates that <a href="https://www.hse.ru/data/2013/01/28/1304836059/Standing.%20The_Precariat__The_New_Dangerous_Class__-Bloomsbury_USA(2011).pdf">a quarter of the world’s adult population</a> is now in the precariat.</p>
<p>Secondly, land reform is now geared at servicing the economic needs of <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03056244.2017.1288615?scroll=top&needAccess=true&journalCode=crea20">black and white rural elites</a>. Land reform budget allocations are spent on the wealthy rather than poor South Africans who are unable to access land.</p>
<p>Thirdly, the structural legacy of <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/natives-land-act-1913">dispossession</a> of Africans from land hasn’t been addressed. Failing to resolve this means that a painful political question is left hanging and becomes an easy symbol to manipulate.</p>
<p>So how do these historical and present conditions constitute the conditions for an emancipatory politics? For instance, will rural people who need land to live on or to farm organise to assert claims for restoration? </p>
<p>One possible answer emerges from research undertaken by the <a href="https://afra.co.za/">Association for Rural Advancement</a> (AFRA), a land rights NGO working with farm dwellers in South Africa’ Kwazulu-Natal province.</p>
<p>AFRA recently undertook a socio-demographic and income <a href="https://app.spisys.gov.za/?dashboard=322127346">survey</a> of 850 households resident on farms in the Umgungundlovu Municipal District to understand more about farm dwellers’ conditions and how these have changed over time.</p>
<p>AFRA’s conclusion is that the politics associated with land is not about an organised emancipatory movement. While the radical opposition party the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and some factions of the governing African National Congress (ANC) are <a href="http://www.mweb.co.za/news/ViewArticle/tabid/2909/Article/15376/Malema-calls-for-land-expropriation-without-compensation.aspx">calling for</a> the restoration of land to Africans without compensation to existing landowners, farm dwellers are mainly preoccupied with daily survival strategies.</p>
<p>If work opportunities arise away from farms, then many farm dwellers will choose to leave the farm. However, such opportunities are increasingly limited. Many farm dwellers are now asserting a demand to remain on land they have long ties to. These different strategies fragment farm dweller interests in the land. </p>
<p>But it seems that the potential exists for a social movement of people “surplus” to capital’s requirements. Whether such a movement develops depends on how effectively populist political groups can create alliances within and between the agricultural precariat, those living in city slums and those whose land access is threatened by agreements between traditional authorities and corporate interests like mining. </p>
<p>The International Peasant Movement, <a href="https://viacampesina.org/en/">Via Campesina</a> provides one example of a social movement involving reoccupation of unproductively used farmland. However, we argue that South Africa’s precariat is more complicated because the country is not agriculturally rich and more than half the population is now urbanised and lives in shacks on the edges of cities. </p>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>AFRA defines farm dwellers as rural people who live on large commercial farms owned by someone other than themselves. </p>
<p>In some respects farm dwellers are a relic of the country’s agrarian history, which involved the establishment of capitalist agriculture in the early 1900s on the back of African labour tenants’ unpaid labour. In return, tenants were granted the right to use some of the farmland for their own farming. </p>
<p>Our data shows that farm dwellers are not simply wage workers. They identify intimately with the land they live on. More than half of the interviewees have family graves on the farm. Their livelihoods are land-based: more than half cultivate crops, while just under half own livestock.</p>
<p>We identified three distinct responses of a fragmenting class of agricultural labour to the increasingly strained conditions for its social reproduction. These are: moving away from conditions on farms that make survival intolerable or impossible; seeking out better options in the cities and towns; and holding on to the roots of a familiar life and place on the farm despite deteriorating conditions.</p>
<p>Those who decide to move away from farms usually do so because of landowner decisions. These include explicit measures to evict some or all of the family members – this affected 7% of the total sample of over 7 000 individuals – as well as implicit or “constructive” evictions which involved the impounding of livestock, cutting off access to basic services such as water and electricity, locking gates and preventing children from attending school. </p>
<p>The second response – seeking better options – involves individual farm dwellers who decide to leave the farm. About a quarter of farm dwellers who have the landowner’s permission to live on the farm choose to live elsewhere. Rates of unemployment affecting households on these farms exceed 80%, so those who leave tend to have done so in search of work.</p>
<p>Farm dwellers must contend with difficult living and working conditions. This makes the third response – staying on the farm – perhaps the most surprising.</p>
<p>One factor is farm wage income which makes up 55% of household income. So when people can get work on the farms where they have dwelling rights, it makes sense for them to stay.</p>
<p>There are other explanations for why farm dwellers stay on farms. We call this the politics of holding on to home. </p>
<p>Nearly 75% of all farm dweller households we interviewed had lived on the farm in question for 23 years or longer, and had a parent, grandparent or great grandparent who was born on the farm. When asked “who is the owner of the house you live in?”, 61% said they owned the house – even though they had already stated the name of the farm’s owner. </p>
<p>Among the reasons given were that they had no other home and had never lived anywhere else. </p>
<p>When asked who would take over the home after the household head died, more than half said that someone in their family would take it over. This suggests that a different, parallel conception of ownership co-exists with legal ownership of the land. Farm dwellers know the farmer is the title holder of the farm but are also asserting that they are the owners of their homes.</p>
<h2>Creating alliances</h2>
<p>A political alliance among farm dwellers opting for different survival strategies doesn’t appear to exist yet although the economic conditions are present. It could possibly develop if either the EFF or a breakaway group from the ANC organise it. </p>
<p>For now, the EFF’s focus seems to be on shack settlements and the urban poor and the ANC is too mired in its own <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2017-10-03-anc-in-civil-war/">internal wrangles</a> to be able to organise a movement of this kind.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/86939/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Donna Hornby is affiliated with the Association for Rural Advancement and the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at the University of the Western Cape. </span></em></p>
Farm dwellers’ conclusion is that the politics associated with land is not about an organised emancipatory movement. Farm dwellers are mainly preoccupied with daily survival strategies.
Donna Hornby, Postdoctoral research fellow, University of the Western Cape
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.