26 November, 2011
The forests of Southeast Asia are home to many tens of millions of people whose rights to their lands and forests are only weakly secured in national constitutions and laws. Yet many of them have dwelt in these areas since before the nation states in which they now find themselves were even created. They regulate their daily affairs, and control and manage their lands and forests, in accordance with customary laws which are both ancient in their origins and yet vital and flexible in their present day application.
The mainstream development paradigm being promoted by capitalist countries is now proving to be very unsustainable with the worsening financial and economic crises adversely affecting the majority of the world’s population. This form of modern development is very extractive and extremely destructive to the natural environment, exploitative by nature, highly materialistic, and mainly driven by greed and profit. It has also stirred more conflicts over the control of resources in trade through economic and political dominance. 
