The recognition and formalization of customary tenure in the forest landscapes of the Mekong region: a Polanyian perspective
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Date
2023-05-04
Open Access Location
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Taylor and Francis Group
Rights
(c) 2023 The Author/s
CC BY-NC 4.0
CC BY-NC 4.0
Abstract
Commodity-driven deforestation and forest conservation efforts in the Mekong region have placed multiple pressures on community-based resource systems, undermining tenure security and livelihoods. In response, several initiatives have been mobilized by states, communities, and civil society organizations which aim to recognize and formalize customary forest tenure rights. We draw on insights from Polanyi’s dialectical movement of market expansion and social protection to examine these protective measures as counter-movements that combine forms of state-controlled recognition, community pushback contestations, and more emancipatory movements. We show the omnipresence and contradictions of the state in shaping these counter-movements and the multiple ways in which communities construct new forest tenure arrangements. While there have been important forest tenure reforms and the setup of state-sanctioned mechanisms to give communities greater rights and responsibilities over forests, the process and outcomes of community rights formalization are found to be highly uneven and contingent.
Description
Keywords
Customary tenure, Mekong region, Polanyi, forest, commodification
Citation
Diepart JC, Scurrah N, Beban A, Gironde C, Campbell NY. (2023). The recognition and formalization of customary tenure in the forest landscapes of the Mekong region: a Polanyian perspective. Journal of Land Use Science. 18. 1. (pp. 211-226).