CLOSING THE GAP: Strategies and scale needed to secure rights and save forests

Description: 

"...the customary rights of communities and Indigenous Peoples to forests, rangelands, and wetlands are often not written down or shown on government maps, but they are a fundamental reality. They cover more than 50 percent of the world?s land surface, yet new research by RRI in 2015 showed that just 10 percent of the world?s land is legally recognized as community-owned.2 This means that governments formally recognize communities? ownership rights to less than 20 percent of the land they have historically owned. This huge gap means that vast areas of the world remain open to contest. Disputes over land ownership are a major driver of conflict: the unclear status of customary rights has played a role in all but three of the 30-plus armed conflicts in Africa between 1990 and 2009.3 Even though the constitutions of many countries recognize customary law, and recognize customary rights in statutory law, implementation is often weak or nonexistent.,,"

Creator/author: 

Fred Pearce

Source/publisher: 

Rights and Resources Initiative

Date of Publication: 

2016-02-03

Date of entry: 

2016-02-04

Grouping: 

  • Individual Documents

Category: 

Language: 

English

Local URL: 

Format: 

pdf

Size: 

3.31 MB

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