Rights and natural resources: contradictions in claiming rights

This session examined issues relating to conflicts in defining and claiming rights associated with natural resources. Using the forestry and conservation sectors the session explores two main areas: firstly the way in which national legislation can undermine local rights where, for example, conflicts between statute and customary law are not resolved. Secondly, at the international level there are a number of questions associated with the role of intermediary mechanisms (such as large international NGOs) and the partnerships between conservationists and indigenous peoples. What, for example, is the legitimacy and accountability of these external organisations, as well as their funders, in the representation of local rights?