Legal Recognition of Indigenous Groups
Community-based natural resource management and local users of natural resources can, and in many cases do, manage resources sustainably – if their rights to do so are recognized and protected, if appropriate institutions are in place or can be developed, and if the benefits are significant, obvious and secure. The article analyses one facet of the complex relationship between law and community-based management: the problem of how national laws recognize community-based land-owning or resource managing groups.