People Empowered to Know their Rights on their Land
A one week “Community Legal Awareness” workshop was held from 7-11 March 2011 at Sek, Alexisafan Madang. The workshop was hosted by Foundation for People and Community Development Inc, (FPCD), a local NGO whose main business is training and capacity building of forest resource owners who want to do forestry on their own land and are interested in meeting the forest management standards and criteria set by the International Forest Stewardship Council for better benefits both economically and environmentally. The workshop was facilitated by lawyers of the Center for Environmental Law & Community Rights (CELCOR) Inc., an NGO that specializes in carrying out awareness in environmental law and community rights.
The main aim of the legal awareness workshop was to educate and inform the forest owners about the laws on land, the environment and their wise management and use of resources. In resource rich PNG, where majority of land is owned under custom by clan groups it is increasingly important for rural communities to be made aware of their legal rights to their land, resources and environment. People need to be empowered to:
- Claim their rights under law;
- Make informed decisions about the use of their resources;
- Ensure that the proper legal processes are followed for resources development activities;
- Work towards minimizing the social and environment impacts of resources development; and
- Ensure that their environmental resources are sustainably managed for the future generations of the community and of PNG.
Topics covered in the community legal awareness workshop was basically on the different laws that govern resource development in PNG and from which resource owner’s rights are derived and can be enforced. These laws include:
- Constitution of the Independent state of PNG
- Forestry Act 1991
- Environment (Amendment) Act 2010
- Land Act 1996
- Land Disputes Settlement Act 1975
- Customary Recognition Act 1963
- Land Group Incorporation (Amendment) Act 2009
The participants were mainly forest resource owners within FPCDs group certification scheme based in Madang, plus representatives from the Madang Provincial Forest Office and local NGO reps. The 20 participants and resource personnel who attended the workshop have expressed that the workshop is very useful and beneficial and will help them to make informed decisions from then onwards, particularly in relation to their rights.
The workshop was made possible through funding from Asia Country Programme (ACP) European Union Forest Law Enforcement, Government and Trade (EU FLEGT). It is one of a series of workshops to be funded by ACP EUFLEGT that FPCD Inc will be conducting before the end of the year.
