Land Rights and the Forest Peoples of Africa

Land rights and the forest peoples of Africa – Part I
neighbours may also have such knowledge and have an equal right to determine the future of
their forests; it is to acknowledge that they are in a politically weak position in relation to
multinationals, national governments and their farming neighbours. It is to assert that they
should have a clear say in their future and the future of their forest; and it is to acknowledge
the difficulty of making space for their voices to be heard, given that their egalitarian political
structures and particular context makes it less likely that they will find the place or reason to
speak out for their future in national or international contexts.
Finally, and with specific reference to the issues raised in this chapter, it is important to
clarify the use of the term ‘nomadic’, and how it relates to Central African forest people. It is
often suggested that forest people do not have rights to the forest they inhabit because they
are nomadic, and therefore do not comply with the permanent residence and domestication
of the land that is deemed necessary in order to hold property rights. The use of this term in
this way is pejorative and has been employed by colonial and post-independence
governments, and dominant neighbours, to deny forest peoples their basic rights. This
manipulation of the term shows, at best, a misunderstanding of the term itself and the
customary tenure of forest people, and, at worst, is a misrepresentation designed specifically
to deny such people rights to their land. The term ‘nomadic’ should refer to communities who
have temporary or semi-permanent dwellings and who regularly move location as part of
their livelihood strategies. The term describes a particular pattern of movement and
habituation and does not suggest that nomadic peoples have no territories. In fact nomadic
peoples, including Central African forest peoples, have elaborate understandings of their
territories which are socially regulated through shared values, and they practise complex
resource management to ensure the health of such territories. Our use of the word ‘nomadic’
should not be taken as in any way denying indigenous peoples their rights to their lands; in
fact, we specifically acknowledge that nomadic people have fundamental inalienable rights to
the lands they live in (see also International Labour Organization Convention 169).
2 The role of egalitarian social and environmental relations
Many critical issues affecting indigenous peoples in Central Africa derive from those seeking
to extract resources from the region without thought for the long-term well-being of local
people and their environment. The contrast between these extractive forces 9 – evident
historically in the actions of European traders, colonial authorities, post-independence
governments, and many multinational corporations – and the attempts by local peoples to
maintain their livelihoods, is reflected in (and expressive of) the contrasting perceptions of
the environment held by those who seek to extract wealth from it and those, such as these
indigenous peoples themselves, who seek to maintain sustainable livelihoods.
This issue is absolutely central to understanding the land problems that indigenous peoples
face, since – as will become evident – many of the laws that currently affect indigenous
peoples can be traced directly back to colonial policies and attitudes to both the environment
and indigenous peoples. To bring this issue centre-stage, it is worth presenting some of the
9 J Lewis (2000) The Batwa Pygmies of the Great Lakes Region: The Problem of Discrimination, A Report
for Minority Rights Groups [Final Draft]. Subsequently published in June 2000 with the title The Batwa
Pygmies of the Great Lakes Region.
Kidd & Kenrick 7
March 2009