Report of the National Inquiry into the Land Rights of Indigenous Peoples xiii In addition, when indigenous peoples’ land is taken over through joint-ventures with companies, they often do not have a say in the management and benefits. The duty of States to protect indigenous peoples against human rights abuses by third parties, including business enterprises, should be a pre-condition for granting development licences and permits on indigenous peoples’ lands, territories and resources, and must include the full participation of Indigenous peoples at all stages of decision-making. Political impacts of non-recognition of indigenous peoples’ lands are the denial of their participation right in consultation processes on land issues or in decision-making pertaining to land development within their traditional territories. Even when there appears to be tacit recognition of indigenous peoples’ claims on the land, consultations were mainly done and controlled by government agencies concerned. A key factor to better address complexity and diversity is a strong participatory approach to designing, implementing and evaluation of programmes so that these programmes are responsive to local problems and to the goals and visions of indigenous peoples. With respect to health and the environment, the Inquiry finds that the current land conflicts involving logging, development projects and oil palm plantations stem from the non-recognition of the native customary rights of indigenous peoples. These activities have resulted in the collapse of the ecologies which in turn have led to environment degradation. Similarly, conversion of forests into oil palm plantations leads to the complete loss of some species of mammals, reptiles and birds, while encouraging the proliferation of others to the extent that they become pests. Another possible negative impact on the environment, if indigenous peoples are deprived of their land, is the over-exploitation by the affected people of the resources around them in order to survive, particularly if they do not have other livelihood options or their low level of education prevents them from finding alternative employment. CHAPTER 10 - RECOMMENDATIONS Despite having provisions that recognise customary land rights in the Federal Constitution, domestic and international laws, systemic issues have denied indigenous peoples the full enjoyment of their legal and human rights. These systemic issues evolved mainly from the successive amendments of land laws that do not recognise indigenous peoples’ perspectives of land ownership and management. They also affected administrative decisions with respect to land claims. The issues also evolved from the adoption of policies that give priority to approving lands for large-scale development projects over indigenous subsistence economy. There is a high degree of frustration and anger among indigenous communities from the inadequate response and ongoing violation of the rights conferred on them. As injustices in access and control of land are often central to the genesis of conflicts that could be costly for the country as a whole if not addressed effectively, the Inquiry sees it as critical that such injustices are dealt with in an expeditious and holistic manner. On the basis of the facts and determinations arising from the Inquiry, 18 key recommendations under six main themes are offered, namely: 1. Recognise Indigenous Customary Rights to Land • Recommendation 1: Address Security of Tenure • Recommendation 2: Clarity of Concepts on Customary Tenure • Recommendation 3: Restitution for Non-Recognition of Customary Lands Report SUHAKAM i-xx_a4.indd 13 7/5/13 6:39 PM