DECENTRALIZATION AND COMMUNITY-BASED PROPERTY RIGHTS

This briefing from the Center for International Environmental Law discusses the conceptual and legal framework of community-based property rights (CBPRs), distinguishing them from Western property concepts and state-led decentralization. It argues that the legal recognition of CBPRs is a necessary condition for environmental justice and sustainable development, particularly for indigenous peoples in the Global South.

• Community-based property rights (CBPRs) differ from Western property concepts, which are typically based on state-protected private individual rights or socialist models where the state owns all natural resources to serve the public interest.
• The use of the term 'property rights' for community-based claims is defended against critics who fear commodification. The author argues that because CBPRs are group-held, they are less prone to commodification, and using this terminology provides clarity to states andSS and external forces, reducing opportunities for manipulation by outsiders.
• CBPRs are distinct from decentralization initiatives. While decentralization can support the recognition of CBPRs, it does not guarantee it; in some cases, decentralization to local government units may actually preclude CBPRs if local officials seek to maintain control of resources to fund government costs.
• The document distinguishes between the state granting legal rights and the state recognizing existing CBPRs. Recognition is particularly critical for ancestral domains or indigenous territories that existed before the state and its resource classifications.
• Legal recognition of CBPRs can be achieved without formal codification, potentially through a legal presumption of ownership based on evidence such as gravesites, orchards, or farm fallows. Such recognition is viewed as a necessary, though insufficient, condition for sustainable development, requiring additional technical assistance, credit programs, and procedural rights to be effective.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (n.d.). DECENTRALIZATION AND COMMUNITY-BASED PROPERTY RIGHTS. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/cbpr.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. DECENTRALIZATION AND COMMUNITY-BASED PROPERTY RIGHTS. n.d. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/cbpr.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=DECENTRALIZATION AND COMMUNITY-BASED PROPERTY RIGHTS |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/cbpr.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallawnddecentralization, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{DECENTRALIZATION AND COMMUNITY-BASED PROPERTY RIGHTS}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/cbpr.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }