Undertaking participatory mapping and biodiversity inventory in Thai Nguyen” northern Vietnam. Photo: CERDA

ONCE TRAINED about research methods and information systems” indigenous communities can have full control over data and information about their lands and resources. And these vital data and information can help protect them from systematic land grab.

The latest e-newsletter by our Partner Tebtebba” a Philippine-based indigenous global institution focusing on indigenous rights and concerns” illustrates examples of how information systems can empower indigenous communities.

Take the case of Guyana” a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America. In 2012 the nongovernment Amerindian Peoples Association or APA” which seeks to promote and defend indigenous peoples’ rights in the country” embarked on a case study of community-based tenure assessments and information monitoring systems. APA launched the study to document the status of lands in order to press for policy reform and recognition of land rights in the “context of indigenous rights and global land grab.” APA also sought to “generate information communities want documented and need rather than reflecting the priorities of others” such as logging” mining” hydro-power and plantation companies.

“We wanted to gather and analyze independent and reliable information generated by” about and for the communities”” said Jeanne Sharon Atkinson” current APA president. For example” different government agencies” according to Atkinsion” are creating their own maps and are “adjusting” the maps to suit the interests of companies. Read more in the Tebtebba e-newsletter.