News of Note 4/11/25: Indigenous Land Rights in Thailand, World Bank Redress Fund, Māori Rights Upheld
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A Historic Step Forward: Indigenous Land Rights Recognised in Northern Thailand (Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact)
“Led by the Assembly of Community People Living in Forests, the Network of Indigenous Peoples in Thailand, and the Northern Farmers Federation, this mobilisation [of over 10,000 people] powerfully exposed the persistent inequities in land access and the violations stemming from state-imposed forest conservation laws that disregard rights and Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) [...] Thanks to their persistent advocacy, six key demands were accepted by the Cabinet, including… formal verification of land tenure rights for forest communities.”
World Bank announces multimillion-dollar redress fund after killings and abuse claims at Tanzanian project (The Guardian)
“Allegations made by pastoralist communities living in and around Ruaha national park include violent evictions, sexual assaults, killings, forced disappearances and large-scale cattle seizures from herders committed by rangers working for the Tanzanian national park authority (Tanapa). The pastoralists say most of the incidents took place after the bank approved $150m (£116m) for the Resilient Natural Resource Management for Tourism and Growth (Regrow) project September in 2017, aimed at developing tourism in four protected areas in southern Tanzania in a bid to take pressure off heavily touristed northern areas such as Ngorongoro and the Serengeti.”
Māori rights upheld as Treaty Principles Bill is defeated (National Indigenous Times)
“[The bill] would have removed established Treaty principles such as partnership and Māori self-determination and proposed putting those changes to a national referendum. [...] In November, an estimated 40,000 people marched on Parliament during the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti. Earlier, more than 300,000 public submissions were received by the select committee, the majority opposing the bill.”
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How Alaska Native youth are protecting the land for the future (High Country News/ICT News)