[TimorLesteStudies] New article: Making Sense of Claims across Institutional Divides: critical PGIS and mapping customary land in Timor-Leste

[Alexander Cullen]

Making Sense of Claims across Institutional Divides: critical PGIS and
mapping customary land in Timor-Leste
Alexander Cullen <http://www.tandfonline.com/author/Cullen%2C+A>
Australian GeographerVolume 46
<http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cage20?open=46#vol_46>, Issue 4
<http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/cage20/46/4>, 2015

ABSTRACT

This article explores land-tenure issues faced by Timor-Leste, specifically
with reference to customary land, and the significance of mapping in
resolving those difficulties. A critical review is undertaken of the
pitfalls of Indigenous mapping and applications of Participatory Geographic
Information Systems (PGIS) to achieve sensitive and empowering outcomes for
customary groups seeking land claims. A methodology for mapping customary
land in Timor-Leste is described and an analysis of the author's
on-the-ground research is presented. Although the importance of customary
institutions for rural land management across Timor-Leste is ascertained,
this article does not advance a definitive land rights framework for the
country or prescribe national mapping of customary areas. Instead, it
argues for a mapping methodology to support land-use decision-making that
can make sense of Indigenous knowledge and appropriate cultural practices
in rural land-use claims. Identified as crucial in the process is the equal
value attributed to evidence presented in myriad forms that may act as key
information bridges across epistemological divides and knowledges. PGIS is
a potentially important tool for resolving land-use conflicts in rural
Timor-Leste when resolution occurs within a formalised institutional
framework.


-- 
Alexander Cullen

PhD Candidate
University of Melbourne
Dept of Geography and Resource Management
+61 (03) 83449302
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