Elahi, Khandakar Qudrat-I (2014) Controversy over customary land ownership: An overview from political philosophy perspective. In: UUM International Conference on Governance 2014 (ICG), 29th - 30th November 2014, Flamingo Hotel By The Beach, Pulau Pinang.

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Abstract

In many countries of Africa, Asia and South America, an overwhelming proportion of earth surface has remained undemarcated, unrecorded and unregistered.This territory is popularly known as customary land, whose ownership is claimed by the tribe/clan living in the area for generations. This vast track of land contains many valuable economic resources, including precious minerals, natural gases and oils etc., which are vital for accelerating the process of economic growth and poverty alleviation.Accordingly, since 1960’s, supranational organisations, including the World Bank, FAO and UNDP, began investing substantial sums of monetary and technical resources on developing these lands.The general policy principle they pursued is called individualisation.Under this scheme, the communally owned lands are first demarcated and recorded, and then registered under the names of individuals using them.Unfortunately, these policies, the customary land literature suggests, have failed to produce satisfactory outcome.This paper puts up two points, which might be helpful to identify problems associated with the current policy regimes.First, the prevailing perception of customary land needs refinement, because it is conceptually confusing. Second, ownership of any property, including land, is basically a legal and political issue, meaning the customary land controversy belongs to the jurisdiction of legal and political philosophy. The paper suggests that John Locke’s theory of property right has necessary policy insights that might offer a kind of sustainable solution to this complex customary land controversy issue.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Additional Information:	ISBN NO: 978-983-2078-95-1 Organized by: Institute for Governance and Innovation Studies, UUM College of Law, Government and International Studies, Universiti Utara Malaysia In Collaboration with: Fakultas Ilmu Sosial dan Politik, Universitas Muhammadiyah, Malang, Indonesia.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Customary Land, Ownership Controversy, Landforms and Land Use, John Locke, Political Theory of Property Right
Subjects:	J Political Science > JC Political theory
Divisions:	College of Law, Government and International Studies
Depositing User:	Mrs. Norazmilah Yaakub
Date Deposited:	20 Jan 2015 08:07
Last Modified:	20 Jan 2015 08:07
URI:	https://repo.uum.edu.my/id/eprint/13102

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