Presented at the CAPRi International Workshop on Collective Action, Property Rights, and Conflict in Natural Resources Management. June 28th to July 1st, 2010, Siem Reap, Cambodia. http://www.capri.cgiar.org/wks_0610.asp

1. Role of Customary Law and Communities in Natural Resource Management in Post-Conflict East Timor Naori Miyazawa, Ph.D. The University of Tokyo 2010.7.1

2. History of Conflict

3. Influence by Conflict on Natural Resource Case of ForestComparative Forest Cover : Before conflict , after conflict ３０％Ｄｅｃｒｅａｓｅ Source: O. T. Sandlund et al., ‘Assessing environmental needs and priorities in East Timor: Final report’ Unit: Hectare

4. 2003.5 taken by the author

5. Major Factors of Deforestation during the conflict Tactics of military counter insurgency Regular burning of forest areas to flush out the opposition forces and to reduce protective cover and concomitant opportunities for ambush Logging and timber extraction

6. Environmental Regulation Framework by the United Nations UNTAET established two main regulations for natural resource management in 2000. The first regulation (17/2000) : to ban the illegal logging of wood and the burning of forests without formal permission. People continued to log woods and burn forests Lack of law enforcement allowed people to log the forest The established penalty system with large fine for illegal logging was, in some aspect, impractical and unenforceable

7. Customary Law for Land and Natural Resource Management: Tara Bandu Strong movement to re-establish customary land and natural resource management practices, Tara bandu Practice of Tara bandu, faded during the Indonesian administration (1976 to 1999)as a result of the restriction on activities of local leaders Since the independence, local communities across the country have been attempting to reintroduce Tara banduas a way to manage land and natural resources. Ex) From 2001 to 2004, 15 out of 18 villages in Oecussi District held Tara Bandu ceremonies in more than 80 % of the villages.

8. Inception of Tara Bandu customary law 2004.September taken by the author

9. Enforcement mechanism Public meeting that determines particular sanctions for specific activities Ex) Typical prohibition: burning of forests, cutting of trees, collecting of forest products, harvesting of agricultural production, hunting and fishing in a forbidden zone for a defined period of time Requires a public ceremony to announce its enactment Fines determined by the community leaders will be imposed on individual who is caught for violating the regulation (in kind or cash)* * Local belief is associated with Tara Bandu practice

10. Preference of Land Dispute Resolution Forum (Nixson, 2004)

11. Community View on customary and court system (Nixson, 2004)

12. Mainstreaming Costmary Law into State Legislations POLICY AND STRATEGY FOR FORESTRY AND WATERSHEDSUBSECTOR by Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 2004 “Coordinate with District Administration and local leaders how to incorporate Tara Bandu as an inherent part in the development of local ordinances to protect the forest-watershed areas.”

13. taken by the author in October 2004

14. Historical Background of Customary Law The key elements of the customary framework have persisted through the Portuguese colonial time Customary practices for environmental management could not be practiced during the Indonesian occupation Ex) The Indonesian administration replaced the role of ritual authorities with Indonesian forestry officers to approve tree felling Natural resource management by customary practices faded during the Indonesian occupation ・ Communities wanted self-governance of natural resources ・ Communities faced a severe shortage of wood materials 14

15. High dependency on natural resources for their livelihood, and community members can receive direct benefit through environmental management. communities possess the accumulated knowledge and customs to manage natural resources Leadership by customary law leaders Regulations by customary law are shared as norms among community members. High compliance with the established regulation by community members 15 Internal Factors contributing to the revival of Customary Law (1)

16. Internal Factors contributing to the revival of Customary Law (2) Covering specific geographic areas: easy for community members to enforce and adjust according to the unique local environmental and social condition Monitoring the regulations is ensured by community members. Straight forward concept for communities : land and natural resource are conceptualized in line with traditions and practices Promotes Reconciliation between conflicting parties

17. External factors contributing to the revival of Customary Law Change of policies by newly established government ex) the new government had the strong impetus to distinguish the independent administration from the previous Indonesian rule Recognition of customary law by the government ex) new constitution and “Policy and Strategy Forestry and Watershed Subsector (2004)” Vacuum in public service ex) human resource constraints Civil societies such as NGO, academics, and international communities have promoted the Tara Bandu customary law as an effective means of natural resource management 17

18. Advantages in Regularizing Customary Law Advantages to Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) Cost-effective mechanism to manage natural resources Critical shortage of human resource: 57 staff Forestry and Water Resource Division or only 19% of the staffing level , compared to that during Indonesian administration Political impetus to distinguish the independent administration from the previous Indonesian rule

19. Advantages in Regularizing Customary Law Advantages to customary leaders State-recognized legitimacy of their power :they lost formalized roles in the local administration to a good extent under the Indonesian administration Control over diminishing natural resources :The lost power of customary leaders was needed to be regained New channel to voice out their concerns to the state

20. Major findings Most of newly established environmental management measures implemented by the United Nations and the government did not deliver the immediate results, under the situation where capacity of the government was limited during the post-conflict period. Natural Resource Management based on customary law has started to function. The customary law played a substantial role in addressing environmental problems that communities have faced during the post-conflict period. The utilization of customary law was a way to address the urgent agenda of the transitional government to address natural resource management. In the post-conflict period, the government integrated the role of customary law into the national policy for natural resource management 20

21. Recommendation This research identified that the roles of community became large in the post conflict country for natural resource management. Therefore, recovery assistances should prioritize the reconstruction of community, when addressing natural resource management in post-conflict societies. In order to adopt an integrated approach of customary law in a post-conflict country, it is imperative for the government and the international community to properly assess the socio-political status of the community and the nature of the customary law mechanism, identify gaps between the public services and community needs. Natural resource management may offer an important means to facilitate the recovery of community in post-conflict situation, when it takes a community-based approach. 21

22. Thank you Peace Park, Tasi Tolu, Timor Leste