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Community land use offers models for land ownership policies
Tradition Informs New Land Policies
Photo: Associates in Rural Development
A woman at Laga Lake, Timor-Leste
helps her community produce salt. At the
end of the day, half of the salt will go to
the community's traditional chief, and the
other half is split up among workers.
By custom, the salt harvest at Laga Lake belongs to descendents of local chiefs. USAID's program analyzed local customs like this one to inform government efforts to develop a formal land ownership system.
One of the most complex and contentious issues in Timor-
Leste is land ownership. More than 400 years of Portuguese
administration was followed by 24 years of Indonesian
occupation. In 2002, the country gained full independence.
The result of centuries of foreign control is a pattern of
overlapping or conflicting land claims that can inhibit
development and cause conflict.
A USAID-sponsored program has been working with Timor-
Leste's government to help it develop land policies and
laws to establish clear land tenure and property rights. An
important step in that process was to study how land rights
are exercised by communities themselves. One of these
case studies involved land use near Laga, in the eastern
part of the country, where traditional land tenure involves
the successful exploitation of a renewable natural resource.
The Laga Lake produces hundreds of tons of salt every year
from the brackish water replenished by the tides. The salt
harvest belongs by custom to descendents of local chiefs,
or liurai. According to the current chief, the Portuguese
issued a formal title to his ancestors, and the community
recognizes this claim. Each year, up to a thousand people
join in the salt harvest. At the end of each day, the harvested
salt is divided into two equal portions. One half goes to the
traditional owner; the other half is split among the workers. Such
management of the harvest helps the traditional owner and the
community gain maximum yield with minimum effort.
Government recognition of such traditional systems can help
formalize and improve them. With a legal basis for the system,
participants have an outside forum to air grievances, and
investors can identify the legally recognized representatives
for negotiations and contracts. This would encourage the
community and the traditional owner to manage their resource
in a sustainable way and protect it for future generations.
USAID has supported the land program since 2002. By
encouraging more stable and transparent land policies, USAID
helps Timor-Leste expand its private sector and build its
economy.
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