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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