La Declaración Final de la Conferencia sobre Reforma Agraria y Desarrollo Rural (CIRADR), celebrada en Marzo de 2006 en Porto Alegre, Brasil, ha inspirado las reflexiones iniciales:

“Reconocemos que las políticas y prácticas para ampliar el acceso cierto a la tierra, al agua y demás recursos naturales y el suministro de servicios rurales deberían ser revisadas para lograr el completo respeto de los derechos y aspiraciones de la población rural, mujeres y grupos vulnerables, incluyendo comunidades rurales tradicionales e indígenas...”

This paper presents what is known about the role of agrarian reform and the subsequent counter reform in producing a successful dynamic evolution of Chilean agriculture.

Land tenure institutions in customary land areas of Sub-Saharan Africa have been evolving towards individualized ownership. Communal land tenure institutions aim to achieve and preserve the equitable distribution of land (and hence, income) among community members. Uncultivated forestland is owned by the community or village, and as long as forest land is available, forest clearance of forest is easily approved by the village chief.

Land area of 1496.3127 hectare in Ou Chum district, Ratanakiri province has downsized from Forest Cover 2002 and reclassified as "State Private Land" for granting purpose as communal ownership to 205 families of Kreung indigenous community on 21 land parcels including 02 parcels for residential, 09 parcels for traditional agriculture, 07 for swidden farm, 02 parcels for land of guardians, and 01 parcel for burial forest land in Kalai commune, Ou Chum commune, Pouy commune and L'ak commune, Ou Chum district, Ratanakiri province.

Land area of 605.8134 hectare in Ou Chum district, Ratanakiri province has downsized from Forest Cover 2002 and reclassified as "State Private Land" for granting purpose as communal ownership to 96 families of Tumpoun indigenous community on 16 land parcels including 07 parcels for residential, 06 parcels for traditional agriculture, 01 for swidden farm, 01 parcels for land of guardians, and 01 parcel for burial forest land in Ou Chum commune and L'ak commune, Ou Chum district, Ratanakiri province.

This analysis assesses community based organization (CBO) performance including conflict management over three years among about 150 floodplain CBOs and reviews experience in the five forest protected areas with co-management.

The Agroforestry Tree Seeds Association of Lantapan (ATSAL) in Bukidnon province, southern Philippines was organized in 1998, facilitated by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). Farmers were trained on germplasm collection, processing and marketing of agroforestry tree seeds and seedlings. ATSAL has been marketing various tree seeds and seedlings with apparent success, and has provided training on seed collection and nursery management to farmers, government technicians, and workers from non-government organizations (NGOs).

Floodplain wetlands are the major common pool natural resource in Bangladesh. Mostly men fish, and both men and women collect aquatic plants and snails. Case studies contrast a women-only, men-only, and mixed community based organization (CBO), each of which manages a seasonal floodplain wetland. The two CBOs in which women hold key positions are in Hindu communities where more women use aquatic resources, work for an income, and belong to other local institutions. In the oldest of these CBOs, more women have gradually become office bearers as their recognition in the community has grown.

A method of consensus building for management of wetlands and fisheries using a systematic approach to participatory planning and initially developed in Bangladesh is now being applied in both Bangladesh and the Mekong delta. The method recognizes diversity in livelihoods and works through a structured learning and planning process that focuses on common interests. It works with each category of stakeholder separately to prioritize the natural resource problems that their livelihoods are largely dependent on, they then share and agree common priorities in plenary.

This paper examines the effects of tenure on tree management at a community level. First, several important conceptual issues arising from this particular meso-level focus are discussed. Second, a description of the key tenure and tree management issues in Uganda and Malawi is presented. In each case, data representing changes in land use and tree cover between the 1960-70s and 1990s are analyzed. In both countries, there has been significant conversion of land from woodlands to agriculture. Tree cover has been more or less maintained over time in Uganda but has decreased in Malawi.