new communities’ and peasants’ strategies in bolivian amazon threats and hopes for a...

New Communities’ and Peasants’ Strategies in Bolivian Amazon.

Threats and Hopes for a Sustainable Use of Forest Resources.

Marta Fraticelli, Michel MerletMarch 2010. Montpellier.

Conference CIFOR, IRD, CIRAD. Taking Stock of Smallholder and community forestry : Where do we go from here ?

Fraticelli, Marta; Merlet, Michel. AGTER. Conference March 2010. Montpellier. 2

1. Introduction. Historical and Economical Context.2. Theoritical Considerations. Property Rights: Nature

and Construction.3. Community Studies

• Construction of Rigths over Land and Natural Resources• The “Saneamiento”(regularization of land titles)• Superposition of 2 different models of Land Access• Conflicts inside communities and between Forest

Communities and outsiders

• Discussion• Conclusion


Historical and Economical Context of the Bolivian Amazon.

1. Rubber Extraction and Barracas. A specific social and economic system

– Appropriation of rights over rubber trees– Exploitative system of workers (family

gathering, dependence for basic needs and alimentation, debts – habilito system.

– For more than 100 years, the barraca system has remained in place, controling all economic and social relations in the region.


Historical and Economical Context of the Bolivian Amazon.

1. Development of free agro-extractive communities.

• Cyclical crisis. Communities start to free themselves. / depending on political conditions.

• Diferent dynamics2. Redistribution of rights over land and NR

• “Agrarian Reform” … specificities in lowlands • Struggles between Barracas and Communities

• Decree 1999. 3.000.000 ha to 200 beneficiaries ?• Grassroot mobilisation of nut gatherers and indigenous• Decree 2000. average 500 ha for each agro-extractive family

through collective tiltles to communities in amazonian regions.


Competition for accessing land and natural resources

Competing actorsBarraquerosPeasant CommunitiesIndigenous Groups (TCO)Cattle ranchersTimber industries (concesions)


Theoritical Considerations. Property Rights: Nature and Construction

1. Property rights over land and NR : 3 main types

1. Use Rights over specific ressource products2. Management Rights, of establishing rules, of

giving access, linked with the spatial dimension of the territory

3. Transfer Rights, (to sell, to inherit, to concede for some time, …), linked with time.


Theoritical Considerations. Property Rights: Nature and Construction

1. Different Rigths Holdersi. Individualii. Collective, families, tribes, rural communities,

municipalities, States, …

2. Rights over NR and Land are not established once and for ever. Permanently evolving.

i. Top – Down Constructionii. Construction from below, through social legitimacy

3. Bolivia’s specific characters.


Community Studies

Agro- extractive communities in Pando (Bolivia). Location of the studied communities.

Merlet and Fraticelli, 2009. map prepared from CIFOR cartographic data


Community Studies

1. Construction of Rigths over Land and Natural Resources

2. The Saneamiento3. Superposition of 2 different models of

Land Access4. Conflicts inside communities and

between Forest Communities and outsiders


Construction of Rights over Land and Natural Resources. Saneamiento.

Villa FloridaStruggle against the Barrraquero

Collective Rights over a large

territory (30400 Ha)

Santa LourdesConsolidating individual areas through sales of improvements

A small fragmented area (6400 Ha)


Superposition of 2 ways of establishing Land Rights

Saneamiento / collective rightsIndividual rights only secured through local customs within the communities, not legally opposable to third parties

Social validation : Family rights over rubber and Brazil nut trees, and over mejoras

Main evolution of rights, slipping from :

access to fruits of groups of trees

to rights over land plots


What do we learn from those 2 situations ?

Santa LourdesIndividualisation of

rights first / saneamiento later

Collective entitlement as a way to secure rights

and to enlarge endowment of landSales / Purchases of

mejoras without enough control

Villa Floridathe saneamiento interno in

Villa Florida/ plots of 500 ha

≠ decree2 objectives

Internally redistribute access to NR

Secure individual rights


Conflicts and threats

Santa Lourdes

Conflicts in Compensation areasConflicts with former

land ownersSales of “mejoras / land” to outsiders

Villa Florida

(Conflicts with neighbours – barraqueros)

Internal conflicts / subdivision

Nature Reserve


usually, those rights are not sold they are not inherited

for ever

control rights of commercial fisheries belonging to community

foreigners are claimed by the communities

right to fish

usually, these rights are not sold they are not inherited

for ever-right to go hunting

community members

Everybody

national forest lawusually, these rights are not sold

they are not inheritedvalid as long as the person

lives in the community-

right to gather non-timber products (Palms,

etc.)or timber for domestic

use

community members

cannot be soldcan be inherited

Brazil nut recollection right, on groups of

trees.

cannot be soldcan be inherited

valid as long as the person lives in the community

historically not. Strongly claimed for the last

decades, now recognized or in process of being recognized

rubber recollection right on "estradas"

individual / family

Gathering, Hunting and fishing Rights

(individuals and families)

national forest law

cannot be soldTemporary transfer of Rights to

companies or to community members is possible (lease)

permanent, no prescription

access control to the territory is possible

management rules and use norms can be established

Access rights to all kinds of natural

resources

Community Legal Entity

(OTB, Grassroots Territorial

Organization)

national lawspermanentaccess control to the territorycontrol on natural resources

withdrawal-

Nature Reserve

Collective rights

rights to transfer the other rights

right validity

Limits, restrictions

relation with time

Management Rightsusufruct rightsright held

by


permanent, as long as grazing lands are

not reverted to forest

The farmer has an exclusive control over the grazing lands.

range lands and grazing lands, infrastructures (fences, enclosures,

…)The person who did the work

holds the rights on pastures and infrastructures

those established by the community

and by the national laws

Those rights can be (and are) inheritedThrough the sale of lasting improvements ("mejoras"), rights become more and more

permanent. Sales are frequently subjected to

community control. It is generally allowed to sell mejoras to another member of the

community, but selling to a foreigner cannot be done without a previous

agreement.

valid as long as the person works in the plot and lives in the

communityotherwise, rights

return to be held by the community

The farmer has an exclusive control over the reverted land /

bush fallow.

annual crops (chacos) including the reverted land – bush fallow

(whole crop rotation)The person who did the work

holds the right on the agricultural products.

It is not clear if those rights can be inherited

it seems that those rights cannot be sold

as long as the perennial crops

exist

the planterjust on the trees, valid even if the

soil is under the control of another person

perennial crops (planted trees)The person who did the work

holds the rights on the fruits given by the trees

those established by the community

and by the owner

it is possible to sell improvements "mejoras", just related with the crop, but it

does not occur.temporary

the farmerthe community or the "owner" give permission to clear the area

for cultivation (chaco) and to cultivate for one or two years.

After this period, the bush fallow is reverted under community

control

annual crops (chacos)The person who did the work

holds the rights on the agricultural product

individual /

family

Rights related to agricultural work, cattle breeding, or

tree plantations

rights to transfer the other rightsright validity

Limits, restrictions

relation with time

Management Rightsusufruct rightsmain rights

held by


Discussion. Conclusions. 1/2

•The present legal framework Individual rights OR collective rights•and economic dynamics (net income by ha. / difficil access to collective forest resources)

A key problem of governance

Consequences : •Forest destruction•Growing inequality in land tenure•Serious conflicts

Society,

collective

individual


Discussion. Conclusions. 2/2

Two legal traditions, compatible with changes (common law and Civil Code)

Important change in Bolivian constitution

How laws and rules can implement it ?IMPORTANCE OF

UNDERSTANDING RIGHTSRecomposition of bundles of rightsMeans and time are needed to built new governance schemes.

Society,

collective

individual


www.agter.asso.fr

AGTER, an Association for an Improved Land, Water and Natural Resource Governance.

http://www.agter.asso.fr/

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