Land Titling and Indigenous Peoples
Date issued
Aug 2001
This paper has the following main objectives: to review the actual or potential impact of land titling and cadastre programs on indigenous populations; to recommend actions that would minimize risk and ensure that land projects are tailored to the aspirations and needs of indigenous peoples; to outline a typology of indigenous landholding systems and to identify any areas requiring further research. The research done by the consultants draws from country and site visits, a review of Bank projects as well as those of other international agencies, and meetings with government authorities, representatives of indigenous organizations and other relevant actors. The countries visited were Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Peru. In each visit, the consultants focused on both law and policy concerns and made extensive site visits to highland areas and tropical regions, including the Amazon basin. Though the study reflects this field experience, it is written as a policy paper aiming to have the widest possible relevance for Latin America as a whole.