Land and Cultural Survival

Download or read book Land and Cultural Survival written by Jayantha Perera and published by Asian Development Bank. This book was released on 2009-09-01 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Development in Asia faces a crucial issue: the right of indigenous peoples to build a better life while protecting their ancestral lands and cultural identity. An intimate relationship with land expressed in communal ownership has shaped and sustained these cultures over time. But now, public and private enterprises encroach upon indigenous peoples' traditional domains, extracting minerals and timber, and building dams and roads. Displaced in the name of progress, indigenous peoples find their identities diminished, their livelihoods gone. Using case studies from Cambodia, India, Malaysia, and the Philippines, nine experts examine vulnerabilities and opportunities of indigenous peoples. Debunking the notion of tradition as an obstacle to modernization, they find that those who keep control of their communal lands are the ones most able to adapt.