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| Common Property among Indigenous Peoples of the Ecuadorian Amazon |
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Reference |
| Bremner, Jason, and Flora Lu. 2006. "Common Property among Indigenous Peoples of the Ecuadorian Amazon." Conservation and Society 4(4). Link: http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/archive/00002410/ |
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Introduction to the Institution |
| In the lowlands of the Amazon basin, both indigenous households and other traditional forest people rely upon a wide range of natural resources to develop diverse livelihoods. Households may depend upon combinations of the following: cleared land for small-scale agriculture and ranching, rivers and lakes for fishing; and forests for timber, non-timber forest products, and hunting. United regional indigenous organizations as well as ethnic sub-federations are present throughout the Amazon region of Ecuador which have secured de jure withdrawal rights to the land of indegeneus communities and are managing the land, forest, water resources. |
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Rules for Management
of the Institution |
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(a) Boundary Rules |
| Spacial Boundaries: The Amazon region of Ecuador. This includes parts of the provinces of Sucumbios, Orellana, Napo, Pastaza, Morona Santiago and Zamora Chinchipe and borders the Andean foothills to the west and the Amazon regions of Colombia and Peru to the north, east and southSocial Boundaries: Indigenous peoples including the Achuar, Cofán, Huaorani, Kichwa, Secoya, Siona, Shuar, Záparo and others have inhabited both the riverbanks and forests of this region. There is a mosaic of communal indigenous territories. The borders of individual communities may be socially recognized but are not usually clearly delineated. The borders of the larger territory, however, are fiercely defended with both signs and threats of violence. |
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(b) Governance
rules |
| Indigenous federations and community assemblies exist which form the rule and control the use of resources. |
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(c) Resource Allocation |
| Rules of resource allocation vary with the indigenous community.1) Secoya and Shuar communities households have clear notions of possessing their own land despite the communal land title. In contrast, Huaorani households conceive of the land that they cultivate as communal2) In some communities hunting is allowed in any lands in the community on the other hand in some communities hunting is only practiced on one’s own lands and within the community reserve, and is not permitted on another person’s land without permission.3) In some communities there are restriction on the use of barbasco (a plant-derived toxin used for fishing), chemicals or dynamite in fishing.4) Timber from personal lands can be harvested but a permission from the community assembly must be taken and must return a portion of the profits to the community. In some communities these restrictions are not present In addition, timber harvesting in the communal reserve is not permitted.5) The sale of access and withdrawal rights to land is not permitted. The Shuar, however, differ greatly, as the sale of access and ithdrawal rights to land is permitted and practiced in several communities. |
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Conflict Resolution Mechanism |
| Conflicts between indigenous communities, colonists and oil companies: Indigenous communities responded to these conflicts by the creation and mobilisation of united regional indigenous organisations as well as ethnic subfederations throughout the Amazon. |
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Problems Faced by Institution |
| 1) Ecuadorian indigenous communities have secured de jure withdrawal rights to their land, but still encroachment is common.2) Amazon common property institutions are less effective at creating withdrawal regulations and collective choice rights.3) few indigenous leaders acting in their self-interest and illegally selling off timber rights or privately negotiating access with oil companies without community knowledge or acceptance. |
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Changes in the Institution over time |
| The 1964 Law of Fallow Lands, classified large portions of the Amazon as ‘unoccupied’, despite the fact that they were occupied and used by indigenous populations. there were no specific laws protecting the land and resource rights of indigenous peoples, which caused frequent clashes among indigenous groups, colonists, oil companies and the government over land and resource rights. One of the indigenous responses to these conflicts was the creation and mobilisation of united regional indigenous organisations as well as ethnic subfederations throughout the Amazon. The Kichwa, Shuar, Cofán, Secoya and Huaorani all organised into ethnic federations with the principal goal of securing land rights. The rapid changes inthe Northern Ecuadorian Amazon due to oil development and agricultural colonization have had profound impacts on the local indigenous populations, including changing settlement patterns, changing livelihood strategies, and increasing interaction with markets. |
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Purpose |
| Securing land rights |
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Country |
| Ecuador |
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Date Of Publication |
| RS-12/2006 |
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