Fit-For-Purpose Applications in Colombia: Defining Land Boundary Conflicts between Indigenous Sikuani and Neighbouring Settler Farmers

Laura Becerra, Mathilde Molendijk, Nicolas Porras, Piet Spijkers, Bastiaan Reydon and Javier Morales
Additional contact information
Laura Becerra: Maestría en Ciencias de la Información y las Comunicaciones, Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas, Bogotá 11021-110231588, Colombia
Mathilde Molendijk: Kadaster International, Land Registry and Mapping Agency of the Netherlands, 7311 KZ Apeldoorn, The Netherlands
Nicolas Porras: Kadaster International, Land Registry and Mapping Agency of the Netherlands, 7311 KZ Apeldoorn, The Netherlands
Piet Spijkers: Kadaster International, Land Registry and Mapping Agency of the Netherlands, 7311 KZ Apeldoorn, The Netherlands
Bastiaan Reydon: Kadaster International, Land Registry and Mapping Agency of the Netherlands, 7311 KZ Apeldoorn, The Netherlands
Javier Morales: ITC Faculty, University of Twente, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands

Land, 2021, vol. 10, issue 4, 1-20

Abstract: One of the most difficult types of land-related conflict is that between Indigenous peoples and third parties, such as settler farmers or companies looking for new opportunities who are encroaching on Indigenous communal lands. Nearly 30% of Colombia’s territory is legally owned by Indigenous peoples. This article focuses on boundary conflicts between Indigenous peoples and neighbouring settler farmers in the Cumaribo municipality in Colombia. Boundary conflicts here raise fierce tensions: discrimination of the others and perceived unlawful occupation of land. At the request of Colombia’s rural cadastre (Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi (IGAC)), the Dutch cadastre (Kadaster) applied the fit-for-purpose (FFP) land administration approach in three Indigenous Sikuani reserves in Cumaribo to analyse how participatory mapping can provide a trustworthy basis for conflict resolution. The participatory FFP approach was used to map land conflicts between the reserves and the neighbouring settler farmers and to discuss possible solutions of overlapping claims with all parties involved. Both Indigenous leaders and neighbouring settler farmers measured their perceived claims in the field, after a thorough socialisation process and a social cartography session. In a public inspection, field measurements were shown, with the presence of the cadastral authority IGAC. Showing and discussing the results with all stakeholders helped to clarify the conflicts, to reduce the conflict to specific, relatively small, geographical areas, and to define concrete steps towards solutions.

Keywords: fit-for-purpose land administration; indigenous land conflict; Cumaribo; Colombia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:10:y:2021:i:4:p:382-:d:531290

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