Dynamics of Access to Land in Isan local Communities : An Argument About Community Rights

Abstract

This article proposes an argument about community rights by analyzing “access” to resources, which is an important issue in literature on community rights. It argues against Ramitanon et al. (1993) which propose that “community forest” is a system of common property in which community members have an equal access to resources according to their usufruct rights. This access principle plays a essential role in contributing to social justice and ecological sustainability. To respond to such claim, the article adopted Theory of Access proposed by Ribot and Peluso (2003) to analyze a case study in village of Isan (Northeastern Thailand). In particular, it examined the dynamics of land access in the village community in three different eras: the community settlement, the community under state power expand to control and manage the land, and the community under the agro-industry. The analysis shows that access to resources is complex and dependent on social conditions. In fact, the community has never lived a static and independent status, but rather it has faced with powers and changes from both internal and external forces. Consequently, access to resources is a mere contesting terrain. From the findings of my case study in Isan, considering Ramitanon et al. (1993)’s proposal that usufruct rights is a fundamental principle of access to community resources. I argues that access to resources based on usufruct rights can only occur in communities with specific conditions. Because in general, access to resources is a process of contesting among various groups of people. It can therefore be said that access to land according to usufruct rights is a limited concept that is unable to address complex situations. This limitation of usufruct rights can in turn scope down the community rights concept. Therefore, a solution to this issue is to consider access to resources as a process of contestation. This will develop the community rights concept to be applied in a complicated situation of resources competition.