LAND AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
OUR LAND OUR LIFE
Definition: Indigenous Peoples:
Sovereignty and Key Role of Beliefs
All of these Elements UNENCLOSED
Beliefs/Education
Land
Languages
Work/Food
Cultures
Communities
LAND AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
OUR LAND OUR LIFE
Land is Life:
Land is life for a people who are dependent on subsistence
agriculture for their livelihoods and whose identity, kinship
structure, language, ancestral beings and spiritual self is to a
large degree founded on land.
As the first Minister for Lands in Vanuatu, Sethy Regenvanu,
stated famously;
– Land to ni-Vanuatu is what a mother is to a baby. It is with land
that he defines his identity and it is with land that he maintains his
spiritual strength.
– Land under the traditional tenure provides more than what a
mother gives us in life.
LAND AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
OUR LAND, OUR LIFE
• Land is spiritual
• Cement and create relationships
• Binds families, clans and tribes together
• Get everything that the need in life
• It is the people’s whole being
• Land is inclusive, it is our land vs my land
• Land is the biggest employer in Melanesia and provide security from
hunger and homelessness.
• Land our only safety net
De-customization And monetization of Land in
Vanuatu and Melanesia
• Land in Vanuatu and Melanesia initially had started to
have momentary value added when:
 Traders
came to set up
plantations
 Missionaries,
churches
 Education
 Modern
development
 Financial
companies
institutions and
De-customization And monetization of Land in
Vanuatu and Melanesia
•
Customary land tenure in Vanuatu and Melanesia is a ‘obstacle to Development’ (land
registration is the way forward)
•
“Ausaid and NZaid have agreed to to provide assistance to the country’s land sector”
to free up land under the customary land tenure for development purposes
•
Assist to ‘establish a land registry and information' it is taking away the land from the
customary tenure
enclosed it and place its records in the
office
•
Assist the government to establish and
effective lease system and development
planning
•
Provide foreign advisors and
consultants to draw up the country’s
land road map.
De-customization And monetization of Land in
Vanuatu and Melanesia
•
Trade Liberalization provide an
open door to development and
investors
•
•
Promote the neo-liberal economy
fantasy
•
Corrupt land dealings by
individuals and investors
•
•
Weak land monitoring system
enhances the corrupt dealings to
continue unabated.
Land in Vanuatu and Melanesia is gradually individualized.
•
Under the adopted laws the land is ENCLOSED and parceled for individuals
De-customization And monetization of Land in
Vanuatu and Melanesia
• Free- up land for development
• Land registration for development
and security
• Land to be under the power of the
state and the companies
• Promote developments that disturbs
traditional economies
LAND AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
GRAON HEMI LAEF BLONG YUMI
OUR LAND OUR LIFE
Traditional Economy and Customary land tenure
•
Strengthen relationship between families clans and tribes
•
Land dispute resolutions that ensures that everyone has a place to live (win/win)
•
More than 80% of Vanuatu(2007 Agriculture census) and 63.9% of population of
the Pacific (World Bank 2009) survive on traditional economy (subsistence economy)
Traditional land is the basis for the resilience to the global economy
•
•
The people have the power and control over their
own lives
•
everything that is taken from the land is free and
the customary tenure is flexible
•
Independence and freedom from the monetary
system
Who has the answers? The consultants
or the people
• Will the Pacific Islanders and their indigenous
•
•
peoples become the nest helpless victims of
corporate victims of globalization?
OR
Will we use our customary power to help bring
true spirituality, true civilization and true
Development to the world that has sovereign
power
• There are thousands of answers that each
indigenous people can give us right across the
pacific.
Vanuatu’s or our Alternative
• Customary land tenure and the traditional economy are our
only way forward in Melanesia in particular Vanuatu.(only
resource is land)
• Allow for Melanesians to fully participate in and drive the process
and control the outcomes
• Land is the biggest employer in Melanesia and provide security
from hunger and homelessness.
• With the fragile island states environment land reforms
imposed on us will have adverse consequences.
• Tankyu tumas long harim blong yu.