Management Community of Communal Lands in the Andean Rural Community of San Roque de Huarmitá, Concepción, Junín, Peru

In this research, the influence of community management of the rural Andean community of San Roque de Huarmitá on the condition of communal lands was analyzed: usufructuated lands (family management) and communal farm (collective management), through an evaluation of the institutional level (design principles) as an indicator of community self-management capacity and analysis of physical-chemical characteristics of soils. Research methods such as: ethnoknowledge and similarity analysis were also used. The results showed that the design principles were well implemented in relation to land use and that the physical-chemical properties differ significantly between the two types of communal lands, showing better fertility results in the usufruct lands. It was concluded that the Andean rural community has a robust level of self-management, that is, it has sustainable community management. Since the usufruct lands provide direct benefits to the families (good soil fertility and pasture production), while the communal farmlands, having extensive management, do not generate direct benefits. In other words, there is a prioritization for the care of the family resources before the community resources.

The grass versus the people: sacred roots of environmental conflict in the Chilonga communal lands in Zimbabwe

This article analyses a conflict that erupted in 2021 between the government of Zimbabwe and the people of Chilonga in the south of the country over the expropriation of their ancestral for the production of lucerne grass. The people of Chilonga resisted being displaced from land to which they are deeply attached and have a sacred connection. This conflict provides a rare opportunity to analyze the often marginalized, muted and misunderstood sacred roots of the environmental conflict that shape collective agency. The article uses the concepts of emplacement and disemplacement to comprehend the deeper and more intangible impacts of displacing people from their grazing lands, sources of water and traditional herbs and medicines, and sacred sites—natural resources they claim to be sacred. Thus, while disemplacement has been used to explain why people find themselves moving, the article uses it to show the opposite: why they resist moving and demonstrate the not easily measured losses upon which resistance to moving hinges.

Preferences, trust, and performance in youth business groups

We study how social preferences and norms of reciprocity are related to generalized (outgroup) and particularized (ingroup) trust among members of youth business groups in northern Ethiopia. The Ethiopian government promotes youth employment among land-poor rural youth by allocating them rehabilitated communal lands for the formation of sustainable businesses. The typical sustainable production activities that the groups can invest in include apiculture, forestry, horticulture, and livestock production. Our study used incentivized experiments to elicit social preferences, trust, and trustworthiness. We use data from 2427 group members in 246 functioning business groups collected in 2019. Altruistic and egalitarian preferences were associated with stronger norms to reciprocate, higher outgroup and ingroup trustworthiness and trust while spiteful and selfish preferences had opposite effects. The social preferences had both direct and indirect effects (through the norm to reciprocate) on trustworthiness and trust. Ingroup trust was positively correlated with a number of group performance indicators.

Local management strategies and attitudes towards selected threatened or protected plant species in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Rasethe MT, Potgieter M, Pfab M. 2021. Local management strategies and attitudes towards selected threatened or protected plant species in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Biodiversitas 22: 3773-3784. Throughout South Africa, ordinary people are managing and using local natural resources in ways that enhance their lives, but there is a major concern about the sustainability of wild plant harvest. This study aims to investigate the current management strategies employed by local people in the Limpopo Province for selected threatened or protected plant species (TOPS). Semi-structured questionnaires were used to gather information from a total of 333 participants, i.e. 110 community members (CMs), 180 traditional health practitioners (THPs), and 28 traditional leaders (TLs), as well as from 15 conservation officers (COs). The study area included the districts of Capricorn, Sekhukhune, Mopani, Vhembe, and Waterberg. Results indicated that in all districts of the province most CMs and THPs reported that no one managed plant resources in their surrounding communal lands, though TLs indicated that the state was involved with management. Fifty-nine percent of THPs indicated that there are no traditional rules that are applied towards conservation of communal lands, yet 91% of other participants in the Mopani, Sekhukhune, and Capricorn districts indicated that traditional rules are followed. Most CMs in these three districts were allowed to participate in conservation initiatives, although most of them did not know that the plants they were using were threatened and protected in legislation. It is recommended that collaborative partnerships be initiated between government and TLs in relation to managing the threatened or protected plant species in communal lands.

Extraer lo (in)productivo de las tierras comunales en el siglo XXI: Acaparamiento de tierras y expansión capitalista en la Península de Yucatán / Extracting the (un) productive trait from communal lands in the 21st century: Point of departure for Yucatan Peninsula capitalist expansión

Desde mediados de los años noventa, la península de Yucatán, una región imaginada desde el centro del país como de frontera, ha experimentado transformaciones sustanciales relacionadas con el desarrollo urbano, turístico y agroindustrial sobre los ejidos que, en promedio, abarcan el 60 % del territorio regional. El objetivo de este artículo es analizar dicha reconfiguración territorial en términos del acaparamiento de tierras, proceso que supone la producción y extracción de valor, derivadas de los cambios de regímenes de propiedad (de la social a la privada) y usos de suelo (del forestal al agrícola o urbano, o del agrícola al urbano), y su apropiación por un conjunto de actores con información y gran poder que promueve activamente la expansión capitalista en la región. La originalidad de este trabajo reside en conjugar un análisis cartográfico, que revela las múltiples modalidades de inserción de tres sectores de capital (turístico-inmobiliario, agroindustrial y energético) sobre las diferentes formas de tenencia ejidal (tierras de uso común, parceladas y de asentamiento humano), y un análisis cualitativo apoyado en información etnográfica y documental, que permite comprender a detalle los procesos de privatización de las tierras desde la perspectiva de los actores involucrados. Abstract: Since the mid-1990s, the Yucatán Peninsula, a region usually imagined as a borderland, has undergone substantial transformations triggered by urban, tourist and agro-industrial development. Namely, over ejidos communal lands that encompass, on average, 60 % of the regional territory. The aim of this article is to analyze the regional territorial reconfiguration drawing from the land grabbing debate. To do so, we consider the production and extraction of value derived from changes in property regimes (from social property to private property) and land uses (from forest to agricultural or urban, or from agricultural to urban land use), essential for capitalist expansion in the region. The novelty of this work resides in combining a cartographic analysis that reveals the multiple modalities of insertion of three sectors of capital on the different forms of ejido land tenure (common use lands, parcels and human settlement parcels) together with a qualitative analysis supported by ethnographic and documentary research that shed light on the privatization processes from the perspective of involved actors. Keywords: land grabbing; agroindustry; clean energies; urbanization; Yucatan Peninsula.Résumé : Depuis 1990, la péninsule du Yucatán imaginée à ce jour comme une région frontalière, a subi des transformations importantes liées au développement urbain, touristique et agro-industriel sur les ejidos qui englobent en moyenne 60 % du territoire régional. L’objectif de cet article est d’analyser ladite reconfiguration territoriale définie en termes d’accaparement des terres en considérant l’extraction de valeur issue des changements de régimes de propriété (de la propriété sociale à la propriété privée) et des usages du sol (de la forêt à l’agriculture ou à l’urbain, ou de l’agriculture à l’urbain), indispensable à l’expansion capitaliste de la région. L’originalité de ce travail réside dans la conjugaison d’une analyse cartographique qui révèle les différentes modalités d’insertion des trois secteurs du capital sur les formes de tenure ejidal (terres à usage commun, parcelles et établissements humains) couplée à une analyse qualitative appuyée sur des donnes ethnographique et documentaire qui permet de comprendre en détail les processus de privatisation du point de vue des acteurs impliqués.Mots-clés : extractivismo agraire ; agro-industrie ; énergies renouvelables ; urbanisation ; Yucatan Péninsule.

The Concept of “Indigenous Land Tenure” Surfaces in Namibia: A Comparative Overview ‒ Agnes Kahimbi Kashela v Katima Mulilo Town Council (SA 15/2017) [2018] NASC 409 (16 November 2018)

The facts in this case, which fell to be decided by the Supreme Court of Namibia in November 2018, can be succinctly put: in 1985, Ms Kashela’s late father was allocated a piece of land as part of communal land by the Mafwe Traditional Authority (MTA) in the Caprivi region of the then-South West Africa (now Namibia). In 1985, the Caprivi region fell under the then-South West Africa Administration. Following the independence of Namibia on 21 March 1990, all communal lands became property of the state of Namibia by virtue of section 124 of the Constitution of Namibia Act 1 of 1990, read with Schedule 5 of the Constitution. Paragraph (3) of Schedule 5 of the Constitution states that the afore-mentioned communal lands became property of the state “subject to any existing right, charge, obligation or trust existing on or over such property”.

Cattle management plan. Experience with communal lands holder

A systematization of a workshop course that took place in 2018 in the ejido of Nuevo Ideal, Durango, with the aim of agreeing actions to start a management plan, is presented. The workshop derived from work done to provide producers with tools and techniques that are useful for livestock exploitation, in addition to raising awareness of the need for actions for the protection and conservation of the natural resources offered to them by summer pasture ecosystems. The workshop was designed with five themes: Our Ejido, Livestock Management Plan, Grazing System, Infrastructure and Agreements. It is important to note that the agreement between PRONATURA northwest and the ejido for the implementation of a program that will help in the grazing system was the product of the workshop. The document is divided into three parts: Ejido, Design and implementation of the workshop, and Conclusions.

Harnessing of Social Capital as a Determinant for Climate Change Adaptation in Mazungunye Communal Lands in Bikita, Zimbabwe

The livelihoods of rural people have been plagued by the precarious impacts of climate change–related disasters manifesting through floods, heat waves, droughts, cyclones, and erratic temperatures. However, they have not remained passive victims to these impacts. In light of this, rural people are on record of employing a plethora of adaptation strategies to cushion their livelihoods from climate change impacts. In this vew, the role of social capital as a determinant of climate change adaptation is underexplored. Little attention has been paid to how social capital fostered through trust and cooperation amongst rural households and communities is essential for climate change adaptation. This study explored how people in Mazungunye communal lands are embracing social capital to adapt to climate change impacts. The researchers adopted a qualitative research approach guided by the descriptive research design. The population of the study was gathered through simple random and purposive sampling techniques. Accordingly, the population sample consisted of 25 research participants drawn from members of the community following the simple random and purposive sampling techniques. In-depth individual interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect data. Data were analysed through the Thematic Content Analysis. This study established that different forms of social capital are being embraced by the community members to withstand the effects of climate change. These include village savings clubs (fushai), chief’s granary (Zunde raMambo), collective field work (nhimbe), and destocking of livestock (kuronzera) strategies. These strategies illustrate community reliance on indigenous knowledge adaptation strategies as a community response to impacts of climate change on their livelihoods.

Fit-For-Purpose Applications in Colombia: Defining Land Boundary Conflicts between Indigenous Sikuani and Neighbouring Settler Farmers

One of the most difficult types of land-related conflict is that between Indigenous peoples and third parties, such as settler farmers or companies looking for new opportunities who are encroaching on Indigenous communal lands. Nearly 30% of Colombia’s territory is legally owned by Indigenous peoples. This article focuses on boundary conflicts between Indigenous peoples and neighbouring settler farmers in the Cumaribo municipality in Colombia. Boundary conflicts here raise fierce tensions: discrimination of the others and perceived unlawful occupation of land. At the request of Colombia’s rural cadastre (Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi (IGAC)), the Dutch cadastre (Kadaster) applied the fit-for-purpose (FFP) land administration approach in three Indigenous Sikuani reserves in Cumaribo to analyse how participatory mapping can provide a trustworthy basis for conflict resolution. The participatory FFP approach was used to map land conflicts between the reserves and the neighbouring settler farmers and to discuss possible solutions of overlapping claims with all parties involved. Both Indigenous leaders and neighbouring settler farmers measured their perceived claims in the field, after a thorough socialisation process and a social cartography session. In a public inspection, field measurements were shown, with the presence of the cadastral authority IGAC. Showing and discussing the results with all stakeholders helped to clarify the conflicts, to reduce the conflict to specific, relatively small, geographical areas, and to define concrete steps towards solutions.