By Oliver Schönweger, Lorenz Jenni and Darryl Vhugen
 

Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, this What to Read digest reviews three articles that explore different, lesser-known territorial disputes - all of them in Asia.

Overcoming Land Disputes by Fostering Relationships in Communities: Experiences from Zambia’s Systematic Land Titling Program

Written by Dimuna Phiri and Kamiji Malasha

Unresolved disputes and disorder, can be addressed through the judicial system. However, the process is expensive, slow, unscalable, and does not focus on reconciling individuals, families and communities. Through the lens of beneficiaries, this article reveals the importance of alternative dispute resolution in land reforms, particularly adjudication committees.

Blog written by AYJAZ WANI for Observer Research Foundation

Originally posted at https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/kazakhstan-on-the-brink/

Main photo: Getty

BY NOFALIA NURFITRIANI AND APRILIA AMBARWATI

Original source: https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/does-indonesia-really-need-a-land-bank/

WHY REJECT CUSTOMARY LAND PRIVATISATION 

Most of the world’s land is still stewarded by communities under customary systems. Billions of people rely on communally managed farmland, pasture, forests and savannahs for their livelihoods. 

This collective management of resources is viewed in the colonial or capitalist economic model as an obstacle to individual wealth creation and private profit. 

Recent border clashes between Kyrgyz and Tajik troops, which have thus far claimed the lives of over 50 civilians and military personnel, are the latest skirmishes in what seems to be an eternal pattern of sovereignty-related disputes between the two Central Asian nations. There is a case to be made that the problems in the region, driven predominantly by each states’ respective claims to land and water resources, can be attributed to the legacy of both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan’s historical position within the Soviet Union.

This blog was written by Barbara Fraser and published by EarthBeat at: https://www.ncronline.org/earthbeat/politics/indigenous-peoples-lives-depend-their-lands-threats-are-growing-worldwide

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Blog written by Robert Barnett and originally posted by Foreign Policy at: https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/05/07/china-bhutan-border-villages-security-forces/

By Nilesh Kunwar

Originally posted by Eurasia Review at: https://www.eurasiareview.com/03052021-pakistans-biggest-land-grabber-oped/

Photo: Pakistan's General Qamar Javed Bajwa