ILC Asia Land Forum Documentation October 7-10, 2014

Asia RCU and MARAG INTERNATIONAL LAND COALITION-ASIA

2014 ILC ASIA REGIONAL LAND FORUM “Mera Gav Meri Jamin” People – centered policies on land and resources in post 2015 agenda

across Asia, 7-9 October 2014, Gopnaad, Gujarat, India

Photo: ILC Asia members, representatives of ILC secretariat, and ILC Regional Coordination Unit

In light of the upcoming post 2015 Sustainable Development

Goals, land, which has been seen as the basis of social welfare

for rural populations and makes up the foundation of our

societies needs to be brought into focus. This factor is thereby

reflected in the theme of the International Land Coalition (ILC)

Asia Land Forum “People-centered policies on land and

resources in post-2015 agendas across Asia” held at Gopnaad

in Mera Village, Gujarat, India on 7-8 October 2014 and hosted

by Maldhari Rural Action Group (MARAG).

ILC Asia members and local civil society organization

enthusiastically took part in the land forum. This provides the

opportunity to members to exchange developments, knowledge and strategies on land issues in order for

ILC "to become a catalytic force that is able to mobilize significant and systemic change".

The forum entitled “Mera Gav Meri Jamin” or Land for Dignity aims to fulfill the following objectives:

To discuss priority issues of land governance from the perspective of different sectors: women,

indigenous peoples and the pastoralists;

To respect and protect the civil and political rights of human rights defenders working on land

issues;

To know about small-scale farming systems, territorial and ecosystem management, traditional

land use rights and local livelihoods;

To find out appropriate ways and strategy of dealing with such issues; and

To prepare a strategy and an action plan to deal with such issues.

Regional Assembly (RA) and

Land Forum (LF): 2011- RA&LF Nepal

2012- RA Cambodia

2013- RA& Knowledge

Exchange Mongolia

2014-RA&LF India

A. DAY 1

I. Asia Land Forum Inauguration Ceremonies

Mr. Sanatbhai Mehta, a former finance minister of Gujarat state and currently a leading journalist and

social activist, and Mr. Rajgopal, a social activist from Ekta Parishad, Ms. Annalisa Mauro (ILC

Secretariat) and Mr. Erpan Faryadi (ILC Asia) were the esteemed guests of the inaugural function.

Ms. Neeta Pandya, chairperson of Maldhari Rural Action Group (MARAG) and host of the Regional

Land Forum welcomed the guests and representatives from different countries in Asia. She briefly

presented existing problems related to land rights all over world. To her observations, many governments

of Asian countries are not interested in effectively implementing land policies. Thus, there is a need to

come together and work collectively to find solutions.

Lighting of the lamp

The symbolic lighting of the lamp by country

representatives showed unity of Asian nations working on

people-centered land governance. Garlands of cotton were

given to honorable guests and representatives mentioned

above.

In his talk, Mr. Rajgopal quoted a phrase from ‘Vedas, “O

God, I don’t ask for kingdom, nor for heaven or for rebirth.

I have the only desire; give me the strength to serve the

poorest of the poor.” He related this to the challenges that

activists face, such as the

capacity to persist, capacity

to redefine development,

high degree of insensitivity,

role of the state, and the

propaganda mechanisms.

By giving appropriate

examples of people from all

over world who have fought against all odds and triumphed, he boosted the

spirit of participants and encouraged them to continue their own

advocacies.

Mr. Sanatbhai Mehta walked the participants through his own life’s

journey from being an ordinary villager to a finance minister, to a

politician and a social activist. With Mahatma Gandhi and Robert Dunlop

identified as his role models, he advised activists to opt for precise

strategies that uses appropriate tools for any kind of social movement.

II. Right to land is needed to realize Rights to Food and Work in post 2015

a. Voluntary Guidelines on Good Governance of Tenure (VGGT) VGGT is a product of inter-governmental negotiations under the Committee on World Food Security

(CFS) and was officially endorsed in May 2012. According to the speaker, Mr. Nathaniel Don Marquez,

VGGT is an international legal instrument—International Declaration without the legal binding effect as

“The activist must

change within

before changing

the world”- Mr.

Rajgopal

“Our strategies

must blend with

various tools in the

social movement”-

Mr.Sanatbhai

Mehta

Session Discussion:

Status of Maldhari of Geer forest: From more than 500 ‘nes’ – habitat of ‘Maldhari’, it was reduced to merely 50 ‘nes’ in the ‘Geer’ forest due to government policies. Also, the ‘Maldharis’ were forced to leave their original habitat in order to preserve the forests.

Population of pastoralists: There are 12% nomadic tribes in India,

where 8% are Pastoralists. The nomadic tribes and denotified tribes

consist of about 60 million people in India with 315 and 198 groups,

respectively. A large section of these tribes known as ‘vimukta jatis’

or ‘ex – criminal castes’ were branded as criminals by birth under

the Criminal Tribes Act 1871 enacted under British rule in India.

After independence, this act was replaced by the Government of

India in 1952.

that of an International Convention or Treaty. It focuses on governance of tenure of land, fisheries, and

forests in the context of national food security. Making some comments on VGGT, it was observed the

document was a large volume with several repetitive ideas in many parts.

Consultations on VGGT took place in the Philippines with several organizations such as PDF-SRD WG,

FAO-Philippines, GIZ, and ANGOC. As an output, three desk studies were made and presented to

identify gaps in policies and programs on land governance and resource tenure in the Philippines.

VGGT is a guideline that helps the government and other agencies on land rights implementation. It may

pressure the government on solving issues on land rights in instances where the land laws are not

influential enough. The detailed presentation is available here.

b. People-centered land governance to realize Right to Food and Work According to Ms. Neeta Pandya, pastoralists are identified with communities whose main source of

livelihood is livestock rearing using traditional and indigenous knowledge and skills. They are usually

living nomadic or seminomadic lives and remains socially and politically marginalized (see presentation).

Particularly in India, some major problems of pastoralists were identified: (1)biased government attitude

towards pastoralism; (2)non-recognition of pastoral land rights; (3)incorrect classification of land use by

the government; (4)population growth and land fragmentation; (5)livelihood threats—reduced pastures

and disturbed migratory routes; (6)sedentary development model; (7)identity crisis—reflected in ration

cards, electronic cards, and birth certificates; (8)eviction in forests by the government without proper

rehabilitation; (9)ignorance of governmental assistance during disasters; and (10)pastoral settlements

considered hurdles in development of urban areas.

Several conditions must be realized to help solve the problem of pastoralists:

Recognizing pastoralists as an important constituency; customary laws, institutions, leadership,

and property rights of the commons; crucial role of indigenous knowledge

Providing health, education, pastoral markets

Building collective strength strategies and action for policy advocacy; data, information, and use

of technology; research and impact studies on land grabs; and mechanisms for protection of land

defenders

III. International Human Rights Treaties in advocacy for Women’s Land Rights

Ms. Krispa Basnyat of Programme on Women’s Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (PWESCR) was

invited to share her expertise in economic socio cultural (ECS) rights and human rights treaties related to

advocacy for women’s land rights which includes: Convention against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel,

Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) 1984; Convention on the Elimination of

Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) 1979; International Convention on the Elimination of All

Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) 1965; Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) 1989;

International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their

Families (ICRMW) 1990; International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (ICRPD)

2007;and International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance

(ICPPED) 2006. The part 1 of her presentation is available here.

On the second part of the session, the speaker introduced that PWESCR was established to put pressure

on most governments in the world to fulfill ESCR obligations, to develop a civil society alternate report,

and to strengthen the work of human rights organizations. Also, the organization offers assistance to civil

societies in four ways: (1)build capacity to develop a good alternate report; (2)provide technical

assistance for all UN procedures; (3)CESCR Review in Geneva-oral statements, meeting with rapporteur,

lobbying; and (4)follow-up on the implementation of concluding observations.

Some ILC Asia members were invited to share their experiences in working with PWESCR programs

with support from ILC:

1. Ms. Shristee Singh from Consortium for Land Research and Policy Dialogue (COLARP) Nepal

related her involvement in the Learning Route “Innovative Tools for Securing Women’s Land

Rights” on February 2014 and the two phases of the Leadership Institute in “Women’s Economic

Social and Cultural Rights” on March 2014 and September 2014, respectively. From the learning

route, she valued learning with different countries in different cultures and contexts. This gave

her a chance to see several approaches in securing women’s land rights particularly that of

Burundi and Rwanda.

The Leadership Institute opened Shristee to the conceptual understandings of the social

construction of gender and the barrier for women’s rights. According to her, this enabled her to

carry out human agenda including monitoring competently, independently, and continuously;

strengthen her ability to apply international human rights norms in the domestic context;

informed here of different social constructs such as patriarchy, feminization of poverty, concept

of dignity, discrimination, among others. The group developed an action project “training on

gender inclusion in community forest” during the phase 1, implemented the project on their own

countries and reported the results during the second phase. This approached encouraged her to

engage in ESCR in the country level more. Presentation available here.

2. Dr. Hijaba Ykhanbai of JASIL, Mongolia was

one of the participants in the PWESCR

Leadership Institute. He is particularly interested

in improving traditional land use rights of

women herders, as well as in the equal rights in

participating in the co-management of pasture

lands including the issue on how to ‘value’ the

herder women’s unpaid work in Mongolia. In his

report, he highlighted learning on gender as a

social issue, state obligations under international

conventions, and various participatory methods.

Mongolia supports international human rights

standards and is a signatory to all major

international instruments related to women’s

rights and gender equality. Presentation available

here.

3. From Cambodia and CEDAW convention implementation, Ry Sotharith of STAR Kampuchea

shared how they develop shadow reports on women's land rights in their country, by first raising

awareness to local people and then conducting series of consultations: with the local people, with

NGOs and governments at the district or provincial level, and with national and international

NGOs like ILC. Presentation available here.

“After the training, I had a clear vision of

ESCR, which made it possible for me to

address issues regarding the pasture land

use rights of women and their right to

participate on decision making on land

and other resources equal as men. I think

women’s right is core for the reduction of

poverty at rural level, particularly in

pastoral animal husbandry. I think

PWESCR training and Leadership Institute

should be expanded, and cover more and

more regions, countries, sectors as well as

women and men.”- Hijaba Ykhanbai

Session Discussion:

There is a campaign named ‘Commons for Common.’ ILC may consider

giving focus on this. – Laljibhai Desai

There are so much work to be done and distance to be covered. Thus,

we need to work at the multi-level.- Dinesh Reddy

Session Discussion:

In Rajasthan, there has been encroachment in 25,000 has of land by military. In the desert of Badmer and Jesalmer, most of the area has been covered by wind panels. The local people are helpless. It’s a big concern and a challenge to bring change in government policy. - Aman

In boarder area of Rajasthan, the military is found leaving mines and arms that bring death to animals. Moreover, vegetation and water bodies have been affected. – Umedsing

There are two ways to preserve land: privatization and institutionalization. There has to be a legal support to preserve traditional rights and livelihood. – Cambodia

B. DAY 2

I. Post 2015 discussions to ensure Rights to Land into Sustainable Development

Goals (SDGs)

Ms. Karishma Boroowa of the ILC Asia desk facilitated the discussions on ensuring that land rights are

included in the SDGs.

a. UNDPI conference and post 2014 advocacy work in Indonesia Mr. Iwan Nurdin represented ILC Asia in the UNDPI conference to put forward land concerns as part of

the SDG consultation. He also discussed that in Indonesia, many have come together to influence the

government policy on land especially that the presidential elections had just ended. They are positive that

they could bring land issues as a popular discourse again.

b. Land and environmental issues reflected in the post 2015 discussions The Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) in India, represented by Mr. Dinesh Reddy showed the

participants that land rights focusing on environmental issues is reflected in the post 2015 discussions. In

his presentation, he cited the following goals: Goal 2-end hunger, achieve food security and improved

nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture; Goal 13-take urgent action to combat climate change and

its impacts; and Goal 15-protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems,

sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and biodiversity

loss. He further emphasized that land is important such as Homestead land, as source of sustainable

livelihood, and commons.

c. Indigenous peoples concerns in the post 2015 discussions “For the tribes, land is everything because land is their identity, custom and culture”, Ms. Anima Pushpa

Toppo of Asia Indigenous People Pact (AIPP) said. Indigenous peoples hold land in common, but most

issues arise when the government takes on the land and use it for industrial development, such as mining.

Also, the status of indigenous people in relation to land grabbing is no different from others because most

governments do not seem to be in favor of the people.

d. Collective for Advancement of Women Livelihood The organizers invited Ms. Soma KP to discuss about the CAWL Rights study developed to assess

inheritance laws and its impact on rural women in India. The study included tribal women of Gujarat,

single women of Maharashtra, and Muslim women of Uttar Pradesh.

Results of the study identified dispossession, violence, and resistance evident in cases observed. Also, she

proposed inclusions and amendments to the SDGs:

Proposed Goal 2: End hunger, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

o “substantially increase small scale food producers’ productivity, sustainability (especially

for those living in subsistence ) and incomes, particularly of women farmers within

marginalized communities;” …and secure and equitable rights to land and other natural

resources such as land, forests, water, etc.

o Critique: “family farms” in context of feminization of farming

Proposed Goal 5: Attain gender equality, empower women and girls everywhere

o Remove discrimination, violence and inequality based on gender in realms of ownership,

use, access and entitlement to land, property, assets, natural resources and knowledge.

o Recognize women as independent rights holders having agency in realms of

management, decision making, use and change of use of land, water, forests and other

natural resources and assets such as housing and property.

Proposed Goal 12, point 17.14 a

o Recognize women’s work contribution in production and care economy, including care of

environment to sustain livelihoods; and take affirmative action to provide support

services as well as promote men’s engagement in the realms of care work towards a just,

equitable and caring economy

e. Development and Agroforestry in the post 2015 discussions Mr. Ujjwal Pradhan of ICRAF identified the development problems linked to agroforestry in two

categories: (1) Livelihood oriented-poverty, hunger, inequity, energy scarcity, and malnutrition and

human health; and (2) Landscape/environment oriented- land degradation, climate change, deforestation

and habitat loss, water scarcity, and biodiversity loss.

CGIAR Research Programs are ready to support SDGs achievement. In fact, an open working group was

established to look at the SDGs and proposed several focus. For more detailed information, please click

here.

II. Program on Non-violence

According to Mr. Ajoy Chaudhuri of Ekta Parishad, active non-violence

is the best response to violence. Based on the enemy theory, violence is

needed to justify the war industry by instilling fear to people (fear on not

having control over limited resources).

Active non-violence must be a way of life because conflict is inevitable

and non-violence is a choice. The four pillars of non-violent actions are:

power of the poor, power of unity, power of information and power of

conviction.

“If people are not

indifferent, the

world can be

different”- Ajoy

Chaudhuri

Session Discussion:

Food security, nutrition and climate change are also matters of concern. The community people have to be taught of land mapping and land matrix. We need to respect the right of the people to decide and we need to examine ourselves in order to work well with the communities. – Ajoy Chaudhuri

Focusing on the non-violent economy, he shared that the word ‘economy’ was originally based on

relations between ecology and humans. In his presentations, he reiterated that in order to support

everyone’s need, there is no space for greed. Instead, they must: promote cooperation and not

competition; stability in diversity; conservation and reuse (not consumerism); not being slaves of the

systems humans create.

Mr. Ajoy Chaudhuri explains how active non-violence works.

III. Large scale land acquisitions

a. Responsible Agricultural Investment (RAI) After witnessing the food crisis in 2007 and 2009, consultations were held in 2012 at the regional,

national and international level. Asian Farmers Association (AFA) actively looked for cases of land

grabbing, conducted participatory research and helped the farmers come together and make their voices

heard.

Responsible Agriculture Investment (RAI) is essential for enhancing food security and the key

contributors are farmers. The objective of RAI is to promote responsible investment in order to contribute

to food security and nutrition. Mr. Jun Virola described the topic in his presentation and showed a video

documentation on Land Matrix, which AFA coordinates for the partnership in Asia.

b. Large scale land acquisition in India Mr. Vidya B. Rawat of Social Development Foundation (SDF) discussed the realities in India, including

the continuous threat to natural resources—land, water, and forest due to the industrialization of the

country. Giant companies illicitly acquired fertile land by giving misinformation, borrowing, and later

on—grabbing land. In Bastar region of Chhatisgadh state, lands were grabbed for mining and without any

dialogues with the community people. The present Prime Minister promised to remove the laws that

hinder developmental agenda in India. The rate of acquiring land for manufacturing and investing zones is

faster than ever and the bureaucrats with the government are taking decisions without any consultation

with the people.

In Dadri, Reliane has acquired 2500 hectares of land. In Mumbai Industrial corridor, a township is being

built. There was a proposal to make 500 dams on the river Ganga. Also, Tehri, a historical city

disappeared due to dams in Uttrakhand. People were displaced and not even 15% have been rehabilitated.

These incidents happened even with the existence of a new land bill that is supposed to favor people.

According to the law, the consent of 70% affected people must first be given, such as the permission of

the tribe must be granted before acquiring land.

As a side note, it was also pointed out that there is an ill-informed campaign that portray activists and

campaigners as terrorists and/or Maoists.

c. Human Rights in ASEAN According to Mr. Roel Ravanera of Xavier Science Foundation (XSF), Asia intends to push for

recognizing land rights as a form of human rights. Several ILC Asia members came together to influence

ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), a consultative body of ASEAN, in

promoting human rights. An event took place on October 16-17 in Cambodia that engaged several CSOs,

IGOS, and National Human Rights institutions towards this common goal.

As follow-up to the results of this event, the group aims to develop a common legal/policy/regulatory

framework for the ASEAN; establish a regional mechanism for investigating complaints; provide space

for CSOs to engage in 3 pillars of ASEAN Community; encourage other member states to set up their

own NHRIs; establish mechanisms on land issues; and form human rights defenders. For a detailed

information on the event, please click here.

IV. CSO engagement in law/policy formulation and implementation thru NES

Representatives from Nepal, Indonesia, India, Cambodia and Philippines shared their experiences in

implementing their own National Engagement Strategies (NES). Presentations available here.

V. Land and Environment in Asia

a. Bulig Panay

Mr. Edwin Nerva of Center for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (CARRD) briefly talked about

Philippines, its background and the situation after Typhoon Haiyan. About 32% or 10 million hectares of

the country’s total land area is devoted to agriculture. Agriculture is the major source of food and

livelihood for most farmers and fisher folks. Both are among the groups with highest poverty incidence.

In the Philippines, there is a Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Project (CARP and CARPER) that aims to

redistribute agricultural lands to farmers until June 30, 2014. It was reported that of the 8 million hectares

targeted for distribution, there still remains 800,000 hectares to be distributed. Many land distributions are

facilitated by CARRD particularly in Capiz and Iloilo provinces.

In the onslaught of Typhoon Haiyan on November 8, 2013, Capiz and Iloilo were two of the hardest hit

by the typhoon leaving 447,230 families displaced and more than Php10 billion damage to infrastructure

and agriculture. This effect also halted the land distribution process of the Department of Agrarian

Reform (DAR).

CARRD focused its efforts in relief and rehabilitation for more than months and launched Bulig Panay or

‘Help Panay’ that aimed to augment limited food supply for the farmers in the area. To access the

presentation and Typhoon Haiyan pictures shared, please click here.

b. Dry Land Pilot initiative

The presentation of Mr. Dinesh Reddy from Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) speaks of the

characteristics of rain fed areas, problems and issues, objectives of rain fed area portal, the architecture

and data availability and users examples.

In India, out of an estimated 140.3 m ha net cultivated area, 79.44 m ha (57%) is rain fed, contributing to

44% of the total food grain production. Grazing based livestock production forms a key component of

rural livelihoods in rain fed regions. Around 43% of the total geographical area is under Commons.

However, there seems to be negligence of rain fed areas due to differentiated approach. Therefore, they

suggest two pronged strategy namely, national data repository for rain fed area portal and block level

planning for effective land use.

c. Payment for Ecological Services or PES

In the Philippines, Xavier Science Foundation (XSF) and other organizations are involved in the Payment

for Ecological Services (PES) that aims for sustainability. According to Mr. Roel Ravanera of XSF, there

are two main stakeholders in this mechanism, one is the ‘sellers’ which include those who provide

ecological services and get incentives; and the ‘buyers’ which include those who benefit from the

ecological services and pay.

In addition, there are six steps involved in the process: (1) identifying an ecosystem; (2) identifying the

sellers; (3) prioritizing interventions; (4) determining funding requirements; (5) identifying the buyers;

and (6) designing the PES mechanism. As an example, he presented a successful PES mechanism in

Mount Kalatungan.

VI. Indigenous Peoples of Asia- challenges and priorities

Ms. Annalisa Mauro as the facilitator of the session introduced the topic on IPs’ challenged and

opportunities particular to land issues.

a. Responding to commercial pressures over indigenous lands, territories and

resources in Asia

Ms. Anima Pushpa Toppo of AIPP presented their project named Asia Indigenous People Network on

Extractive Industries and Energy (AIPNEE). This highlights IP concerns on land rights and extractive

industries and energy projects; assert shared position for the promotion and recognition of IP rights;

expose abuses by corporations and governments; and strengthen regional and international solidarity for

the respect and protection of IP rights.

Several events were held to popularize the program both in the Asia region and in global conferences

such as the 2nd UN Forum on BHR in Geneva and the Peoples Global Camp in Bali, Indonesia.

Session Discussion:

Have you done anything about the children of the pastoralists? How about gender equality among the pastoralists? Although education is important, formal education goes against the ideals of pastoralism because younger generation tends refuse to uphold pastoralism as their future. Women are the ones who deal with market. One that dares to abuse women will be subjected to severe punishment. The women keep their surname from birth to death.- Laljibhai Desai

b. Ensuring sustainable livelihoods for pastoralist/nomadic communities

Mr. Hijaba Ykhanbai of JASIL explained the situation of the pastoralists in Mongolia. According to him,

ensuring livelihood is a complex issue for pastoralist communities because they are very diverse, resource

management problems are wide-ranging and often severe, and the countries and regions are experiencing

climate change and its impact. Also, pastoral and indigenous communities are poorest part of society.

To ensure sustainable livelihood for these communities, there were identified elements that must be

fulfilled: legal and policy support; clear land tenure system, recognition of land use rights, capacity

building, traditional knowledge and modern technology; improved access to resources, and reduced

unpaid work.

Ms. Aizhan Tursalieva of Rural Development Fund (RDF), Krygyzstan talked about forestry for the

pastoralists, special training on how to care for livestock and how to grow trees. They hold seminars and

workshops to network of the pastoralists and also publicize books on traditional knowledge.

Mr. Laljibhai Desai of MARAG related that WAMP is an alliance of the pastoralists and the nomadic.

Although, there is no authentic source that gives exact number of population of such people, there are

more or less 300 to 500 million people who are unseen, unheard and voiceless. Through a brief

presentation, Laljibhai gave a glimpse of its structure, ongoing programs and emerging issues. The

presentation shown is available here.

c. Promoting the recognition of indigenous lands, territories, and resources in

Cambodia

Mr. Sam Somony of NGO Forum, Cambodia related that in their country, there exist many laws and

initiatives with regard to promoting the indigenous land, territories and resources. The government in

Cambodia signed in all major international conventions. However, there are many incidents of land

grabbing due to poor legal enforcement of these laws. CSOs are playing an active role through using

various methods and strategies such as putting pressure on the government, effective use of media, and

the like. They have also come out with few recommendations such as implementation of the already

existing legal and policy framework, regulating private sector behavior etc.

At the end of the presentation, he recommended several points for action to help solve this issue:

implementing existing legal and policy framework; regulating private sector behavior; protecting IPs

territories in the interim; amending sub-decree on procedures of registration of IP lands; educating IPs;

supporting IP authorities, culture, and custom.

VII. Information and Communications Needs

The Projects and Information Officer for Asia, Ms. Anna Brillante opened the session with the

presentation of the strategic framework survey results that identified the needs of the members in the

region. Participants were divided into four groups to focus on particular communication needs and

suggest on how these may be fulfilled.

For outreach and network building, participants identified: use of google groups, linkage of ILC

member organizations’ websites, sending individual emails and organizational emails, use of audio-

visuals with YouTube, translating publications to local languages, disseminating hard copies and

electronic copies of policy briefs, using skype and video conferencing for communication. They also

mention their dream of distributing IPhone to all ILC members for ease in connection.

In order to address the need for knowledge exchange and dialogue, it was mentioned that members

could: have exchange visits and learning routes, conduct systematization fora/FGDs, coordinate

fair/exhibits/cultural performances, share traditional knowledge and oral tradition, use ICT tools, explore

internship opportunities/OJT/Summer school, utilize case studies/documentation/research, look at

intercultural communication, use audio-visual posters, and maximize media advocacy.

Capacity building and empowerment could also be achieved through effective communications using

SMS blast, informal materials, conducting trainings, using social media (twitter, Facebook, Viber,

WhatsApp, etc.), sharing learning, translating to local language information materials, organizing

seminars/workshop/symposiums, developing joint folk songs/games/dances, collecting feedback on ex-

trainers meetings, engaging journalists to see works on land ‘in the positive light’, and putting up a page

on Wikipedia about us (pastoralists, farmers, etc.)

In the need for campaigning and advocacy, the use of technology and social media is also seen

important and this includes community radio. Also included in the list are conduct of exposure visits,

development of guidebooks and training manuals that include local legal policies, use of spatial land maps

and wealth ranking for evidence-based advocacy, and participation in regional and national actions.

C. DAY 3

Closing Ceremony and Celebration of Land

On the 9th of October 2014, the pastoralists (Maldhari) both men and women from various regions of

Gujarat came together to Gopnad centre at Mera village to participate in the ‘Land Mela’ which is also the

closing ceremony of Asia Land Forum.

Preparation of Authentic Food

Early morning, the pastoralists’ women cooperatively began cooking authentic food like ‘shiro’, ‘sukhdi’,

‘ladva’, ‘daal’ and ‘rotla’. The guests and locals shared and celebrated the food.

In the closing ceremony, groups of folk dancers from Surendranagar performed a dance named “Raas” to

welcome one and all. Ms. Neeta Pandya, the chairperson of MARAG, welcomed the pastoralists on

behalf of all the representatives present. Mr. Dinesh Desai briefly explained to all

locals the Asia Land Forum and its objective of coming together. Mr. Laljibhai

added that having such a celebration of land is important to help save the earth. He

cited that the problems related to land are the same around the globe, hence there is

a need to come together without any barriers like culture, religion and politics. Ms.

Karishma, as an ILC representation shared her experiences in Gopnad.

Significance of ‘Land Mela’:

The pastoralists and the representatives from Asia were invited at the centre with

handful of grain that each one brought with them from different regions of Gujarat

and across Asia. It was the ceremonial symbol that the Land Mela has been opened

for all.

This is a tradition for pastoralist and every year, they come together with grains to

celebrate land as “Nav Dhan no Utsav” with pride and pleasure. Pastoralists regard

land as a mother that looks after them and their needs. The celebration was also

essential to preserve the culture of local people that is observed to be declining.

Iwan from Indonesia said; “I feel honored to be with you all. I had learnt about Gujarat from history

taught in elementary school. I also learnt a lot about India by watching Hindi movies. The lives of

Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel have inspired me because of the sacrifices they had

in battling for human rights. In Indonesia, we regard the land as our mother. We also face a number of

problems related to land that are no different from you. Hence, we should always remain together to save

and protect the mother land.”

Vidya Rawat from India: “Jay Insaan, Jay Vignan”, having expressed his gratitude to MARAG, he said

that “there is a need to strengthen ourselves in order to fight for land, and livelihood, traditions and

culture because the massive multi-national companies have been grabbing land and made businesses out

of it.” He assured them that the people all over the world are together and never alone. “We have to

worship the nature because it gives us life. Disasters are outcomes of our negligence and disrespect to the

Mother Nature”, he added.

Jyoti from Nepal expressed her gratitude to all the pastoralists for giving her an opportunity to be here.

She said that issues and context related to land were similar to Nepal. They have been fighting for more

than twenty years in order to save and protect the land. They have always received support from peoples’

organizations to influence government land policy. She urged the pastoralists to never give up the spirit of

battling for land.

Ujjwal Pradhan thanked all on behalf of ILC. He said that there were many people who did not know

importance of coming together. Hence, ILC came into existence to bring people from all over the world

together. He related that he had a great opportunity to learn about the pastoralists of Gujarat, their rich

customs and traditions. He proudly admitted that he had a rare chance to have milk of a camel.

Furthermore, he said; “We are still regarded a minority and there are struggles and challenges in front of

us. We need to be awakened because there is a gigantic force against those who fight for land. ILC

provides us new leadership, strategic framework and occasions to intervene with land and environmental

issues. The big question is that “how do we keep our momentum going on?” I am glad to mention that

this is the first gathering organized in a rural set up. It is in fact, a boost for transformative experience. We

need to move forward as coalition so that our voices will be heard and will remain in the forefront. “

He closed with two quotes from two great people:

“The future belongs to those who give the next generation reason for hope.” – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world.” – Margaret

Mead

***

ANNEX A: List of participants

Name Gender Organization

1 Sailendra Rai M Abhiyan Nepal

2 Anima Pushpa Toppo F Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP)

3 Jun Virola M Asian Farmers Association (AFA)

4 Nathaniel Don Marquez M Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural

Development (ANGOC)

5 Daulat Ram M Bhartiya Jan Sewa Ashram (BJSA)

6 Edwin Nerva M Center for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (CARRD)

7 Homendra Thapa M College of Development Studies (CDS)

8 Iwan Nudin M Consortium for Agrarian Reform (KPA)

9 Shristee Singh F Consortium for Land Research and Policy Dialogue (COLARP)

10 Jyoti Baidhya F Community Self-Reliance Centre (CSRC)

11 Dinesh Reddy M Foundation For Ecological Security (FES)

12 Deny Rahadian Tadjudin M Indonesia Community Mapping Network (JKPP)

13 Nana Ratnasari F Indonesian Institute for Forest and Environment (RMI)

14 Anna Amalia Brillante F International Land Coalition ( ILC Asia RCU)

15 Erpan Faryadi M International Land Coalition (ILC Asia RCU)

16 Annalisa Mauro F International Land Coalition (ILC Secretariat)

17 Sabine Pallas F International Land Coalition (ILC Secretariat)

18 Karishma Boroowa F International Land Coalition(ILC Secretariat)

19 Hijaba Ykhanbai M JASIL

20 Ram Bhuwan M Jan Kalyan Sansthan (JKS)

21 Ajoy Chaudhuri M Mahatma Gandhi Seva Ashram (MGSA)/ Ekta parishad

22 Monish Bajracharya M MODE Nepal

23 Prem Kumari Shahi F National Land Rights Forum (NLRF)

24 Sam Somony M NGO Forum on Cambodia (NGOF)

25 Ireneo Cerilla M Pambasang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka (PAKISAMA)

26 Aizhan Tursalieva F Rural Development Fund (RDF)

27 Nani Saptariani F Sajogyo Institute (SAINS)

28 Vidya Bhushan Rawat M Social Development Foundation (SDF)

29 Stephen Livera M Society for Development of Drought Prone Area (SDDPA)

30 Rohini Reddy F South Asia Rural Reconstruction Association (SARRA)

31 Ry Sotharith M STAR Kampuchea

32 Saswati Roy F SWADHINA

33 Pradip Gope M SWADHINA

34 Dr. Sadanand Rai M Vanvasi Seva Kendra (VSK)

35 Ujjwal Prasad Prahad M World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)

36 Roel Ravanera M Xavier Science Foundation, Inc. (XSF)

37 Neeta Pandya F MARAG

38 Bhavana Desai F MARAG

39 Dinesh Desai M MARAG

40 Bashkar M SARRA