Learning Exchange and Policy Dialogue on Customary Tenure (CT) Recognition, Food Security and Traditional Livelihoods in the ASEAN Region

Learning Exchange and Policy Dialogue on Customary Tenure (CT) Recognition, Food Security
and Traditional Livelihoods in the ASEAN Region
1-3 December 2021 | 14:00 GMT+8 Philippine time | Zoom

Register at https://bit.ly/ASEANRLEPDonCT

THEME

Linking customary tenure (CT) recognition, food security and traditional livelihoods in the ASEAN region

Introduction

The State of the World’s Forest in 2018 underscored that clear and secured tenure rights are recognized as an important prerequisite for the sustainable management of natural resources. Tenure covers multiple rights, including at a minimum, the right to access, the right to make management decisions and the right to withdraw resources from a particular area. Over the past few years, there have been progress in the areas of tenure and safeguards at the ASEAN (regional) level, particularly in the Mekong sub-region. Free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) provisions under international and national laws, policies and programs have gained strength. Several legal reforms have been proposed, and in part adopted, in recent years on land in the region. Both customary tenure (CT) and FPIC have been recognized as key indicators in an important guideline for responsible investment in food agriculture and forestry.

However, despite these developments, several challenges remain. For customary forest tenure, access and ownership are still conditional and restricted in several cases. Land conflicts remain high. Further cases of encroachments in customary land and forests threaten customary rights and impede on traditional livelihood and customary conservation and resource management practices. In terms of safeguards, FPIC guidelines have not been developed and institutionalized in several ASEAN countries, and many development projects such as dam construction, mining, and agroindustry crops are taking place without the consent of communities. The lack of capacity and awareness by the local communities and indigenous peoples on the international and regional mechanisms that provide safeguards over community rights limit their ability to engage authorities about the adherence to these safeguards. 

Based on the latest available figures collected by The Center for People and Forest, formerly the Regional Community Forestry Training Center for Asia and the Pacific (RECOFTC), the ASEAN region has approximately 10,078,435 ha of state forestland managed under official social forestry agreements or communal land titles (RECOFTC and AWG-SF, 2017). While those that have social forestry policies have a tenure system in place, tenurial rights can easily be revoked by the government depending on its priorities. Incentives for the local people to manage the forest sustainably in terms of use rights also depend on the policies of the government and the clarity of how these policies were written (Ramirez, et al., 2019).

Building on these gains and recognizing existing challenges, it is vital to continue amplifying the work towards the development, adoption and implementation of CT recognition and the use of safeguards such as FPIC in securing rights over customary forest tenure in the Mekong region through strengthening the policy and practice work (action research, analyses and assessments, capacity building and knowledge exchange) that will deliver increased capacities, key lessons, policy recommendations, and policy guidance in securing customary forest tenure and FPIC safeguards.

Learning Exchange and Policy Dialogue on Customary Tenure (CT) Recognition, Food Security and Traditional Livelihoods in the ASEAN Region 

The regional learning exchange and policy dialogue is part of the project, “Strengthening regional mechanisms and capacities in engaging, implementing, and adopting CT recognition and FPIC as safeguards in the Mekong region”. It aims to contribute towards the following Outcome:

ASEAN Guidelines for CT recognition is supported, adopted, and implemented by ASEAN Member States to support national policies and legislations (Outcome 2)

In this Learning Exchange and Policy Dialogue, the organizers aim to:

1. Raise awareness on the status of CT recognition in different member states of the ASEAN, focusing particularly on its intersect with food security and traditional livelihoods;
2. Present to multi-stakeholder partners different views, strategies and approaches concerning policy reform on CT recognition at the national and regional levels; and
3. Discuss and review the draft zero of an ASEAN Guidelines for CT Recognition and identify action points to promote its adoption at the regional and national levels.

Key Participants

• ASEAN Member State representatives working in the environment and forestry sector; government officials
• Civil society organizations – e.g., CSO Forum on Social Forestry in ASEAN, RRI, The Tenure Facility, Land Portal
• National CT alliance members
• Regional CT Alliance Members 
• Indigenous people and local community representatives
• Relevant regional and national bodies – AWG-SF, ASEAN Secretariat, Steering Committee on CCFS
• Family farmers in forested landscapes in the ASEAN region (men, women, youth and IPs)
• Other development partners (e.g. FAO, International Land Coalition (ILC), IFAD etc.)

Additional notes

• This activity is part of a series of activities geared towards the development of the ASEAN Guidelines for CT Recognition. 
• The first activity, a technical seminar and knowledge sharing, will be organized by NTFP-EP on November 11-12, 2021, and will focus on the general overview of the status of CT recognition and FPIC in the ASEAN region. This learning exchange and policy dialogue will come after, with the goal of (1) linking CT recognition with food security and traditional livelihoods; and (2) reviewing the zero draft of the ASEAN Guidelines.

Day 1: Understanding CT recognition and Food Security and Traditional Livelihoods in the ASEAN Region

Starting time: 02:00PM Philippine time

Duration: 2 hours 45 minutes (program proper, not including breaks)

Main host: Juneliza Pandela, AFA

Day 2: Policy and Inclusive Governance Mechanisms to Strengthen CT Recognition and Food Security and Traditional Livelihoods in the ASEAN Region

Starting time: 02:00 PM Philippine time

Duration: 2 hours, 30 minutes (program proper, not including breaks)

Main host: Irish Baguilat, AFA

Day 3: Development of the Zero Draft of the ASEAN Guidelines for CT Recognition

Starting time: 02:00 Philippine time

Duration: 2 hours, 30 minutes (program proper, not including breaks)

Main host: Myline Macabuhay, AFA