Traditional Knowledge Bulletin

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• Resource: Book on indigenous peoples, development, conservation and the law in Asia
• Resources: ILC papers on indigenous peoples’ rights to lands, territories and resources; land governance in Asia
• Resource: Book on land rights of the San and the legal concept of indigeneity in Africa
• Funding opportunity: Call for proposals for research on safeguarding TK in South Asia
• This week in review … Sri Lankan farmers urged to tap ancient irrigation systems
• This week in review … Workshops in Australia share knowledge about traditional burning techniques

Resource: Book on indigenous peoples, development, conservation and the law in Asia Posted: 17 Jul 2013 01:12 AM PDT The Right to Responsibility: Resisting and Engaging Development, Conservation and the Law in Asia Holly Jonas and Harry Jonas, Natural Justice, and Suneetha M. Subramanian, UNU-IAS (eds), 2013 This edited volume explores how indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ resilience is often undermined by laws, institutional arrangements and judicial systems. It also examines how particular peoples and communities strive to overcome such structural barriers to self-determination by resisting unwanted developments and engaging proactively with a range of actors at multiple scales. The first part addresses the context and theoretical framework; the second examines specific community experiences, including the transboundary landscape approaches in the Kailash sacred landscape (China, India and Nepal), Sharwa (Sherpa) rights and indigenous conserved areas in Sagarmatha (Mount Everest) National Park (Nepal), livestock keepers’ rights in South Asia, forest rights and conservation in India, and local forest governance, FPIC and REDD+ in Indonesia; and the third includes recommendations and concluding remarks. Comments and feedback are welcome by 1 September 2013 at holly(at)naturaljustice.org. Download the book [pdf] …

Resources: ILC papers on indigenous peoples’ rights to lands, territories and resources; land governance in Asia Posted: 17 Jul 2013 01:10 AM PDT Synthesis Paper: Indigenous peoples’ rights to lands, territories and resources International Land Coalition, 2013 This brief presents an overview of issues related to indigenous peoples’ rights to lands, territories and resources, including on: the international framework and jurisprudence; regional challenges and opportunities; indigenous women’s rights to lands and resources; and recommendations for ILC engagement on indigenous issues. The synthesis paper refers to a full ILC study, which is available upon request at: info(at)landcoalition.org. Download the brief [pdf] … Land Governance in Asia: Understanding the debates on land tenure rights and land reforms in the Asian context Antonio B. Quizon, International Land Coalition, 2013 | ISBN: 978-92-95093-82-9 This paper examines land tenure systems and legal frameworks in Asia, and the current major debates around processes of land reform and justice for poor land users. It sets today’s systems in their historical context, tracing their roots back to regimes imposed by colonising powers, mainly European, over a 450-year period. The land reform process has remained largely incomplete, but today there is a resurgence of interest. This paper examines various models for reform and their potential to protect rights and access for poor land users. Among the major issues it discusses are women’s access to land, the land rights of indigenous peoples, tenure for forests and public domains, the role of small farms, the phenomenon of land grabbing, and the emerging effects of climate change. Download the paper [pdf] …

Resource: Book on land rights of the San and the legal concept of indigeneity in Africa Posted: 17 Jul 2013 01:07 AM PDT Lost Lands? (Land) Rights of the San in Botswana and the legal concept of indigeneity in Africa Manuela Zips-Mairitsch, IWGIA and LIT, June 2013 | ISBN: 978-87-92786-35-7 This book focuses on a land rights dispute in Botswana: the decision of the High Court of Botswana in the case Sesana v. the Attorney General in late 2006. In this case, 215 individual San claimants took legal steps against their relocation from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve as well as the denial of hunting licenses. Furthermore, they criticized the discontinuation of state infrastructure and welfare benefits. After 130 days of trial and almost 19,000 pages of minutes, this was the most comprehensive case any court in Botswana had ever had. The book shows the limits of the claimants’ legal strategy: although significant progress has been made in recognizing the land rights of indigenous peoples in the last few years, it becomes clear how difficult it is to implement this progress for the benefit of a community’s way of life like the San. Further information … Download the publication [pdf] …

Funding opportunity: Call for proposals for research on safeguarding TK in South Asia Posted: 17 Jul 2013 01:05 AM PDT SAARC Call for Proposals for Research on Safeguarding Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions of South Asia (2013-2014) SAARC Cultural Centre, May 2013 The Cultural Centre of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has invited proposals for research on various aspects of traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions of South Asia. The objectives of the research project are to: identify and document various forms of traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions of South Asia; study and analyze all forces that have impacted traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions; discuss and debate their productive characteristics; and present innovative measures of safeguarding them. All research proposals are to be submitted through official channels to the SAARC Secretariat by 31 August 2013. Further information …

This week in review … Sri Lankan farmers urged to tap ancient irrigation systems Posted: 17 Jul 2013 01:02 AM PDT Sri Lankan farmers urged to tap ancient irrigation systems amid erratic rains Thomson Reuters Foundation, 2 July 2013 COLOMBO, SRI LANKA: While the problem of erratic rains may seem relatively new, research by Sri Lankan water experts shows that a workable solution to the vagaries of shifting rain patterns has been around for centuries in the form of ancient irrigation reservoirs, or “tanks” as they are known locally. Experts at the Colombo-based International Water Management Institute (IWMI) say these tanks – mainly located in the north and east – can be used to store excess water from floods, which is then released during dry spells. Nishadi Eriyagama, a water resources engineer at the IWMI, said farming regions in the dry zone have traditionally relied on reservoirs and irrigation for crop cultivation. “It has been the custom from ancient times to store excess rainfall in large and small irrigation ‘tanks’ to be used during the dry season,” she said. Read the article …

This week in review … Workshops in Australia share knowledge about traditional burning techniques Posted: 17 Jul 2013 01:00 AM PDT Cool way to burn improving land Daily Liberal, 11 July 2013 NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA: Two field days aim to share knowledge about traditional aboriginal techniques of cool burning and how they can be used to improve groundcover. The field days are the culmination of a series of eight knowledge workshops, held throughout the Western Catchment, Australia, aiming to collect traditional knowledge for use in the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Knowledge System, a web-enabled database that links users to relevant organizations, documents, audio and video files about aboriginal cultural heritage in the Western Catchment. While discussion topics included the uses of local plants, different techniques for caring for different land types and a range of research materials, the main focus of the workshops was the use of fire in traditional land management practices. Read the article … Visit the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Knowledge System …

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