Tania Li reviews the goals of the movement to protect customary land rights, and assess the reasons why 25 years on, the trajectory of dispossessory development remains unchecked. Legal advocacy has opened pathways for customary land rights to be recognized in theory, but in practice, the number of communities that have qualified for recognition is very small, each ‘case’ demands heroic efforts and significant resources, and the content of recognition falls far short of restoring customary landholders’ autonomy and control.

Image courtesy of interviewee