Maya Communal Lands in Belize: A fit-for-purpose model to support indigenous land rights, climate resilience and legal integration.
Schlagwörter:
Fit-for-purpose Land Administration, Belize, Maya land tenureAbstract
Indigenous land rights remain a central concern in global land governance, with the case of the Maya communities in southern Belize offering a particularly important example of legal pluralism in practice. Landmark rulings of the Caribbean Court of Justice confirmed Maya communal tenure, but their implementation has been slow or arguably, non-existent. This tension highlights the need for frameworks that can respect cultural traditions while providing the legal certainty and institutional support necessary for sustainable development, climate resilience, and social equity.
This paper reports on a pilot study conducted in four Maya villages in the Toledo District. A structured questionnaire was used to capture community perspectives on tenure security, government engagement, conflict resolution, and concerns about formalisation. While limited in scope, the pilot provides valuable insights into how customary tenure is perceived and managed at the village level. The empirical findings are complemented by a review of relevant legal frameworks and international land administration approaches, particularly the Fit-for-Purpose Land Administration (FFPLA) guidelines and the Land Administration Domain Model (LADM).
Findings reveal that Maya communities perceive high levels of security under customary systems but remain wary of formalisation due to fears of taxation, government control, and cultural erosion. While most respondents preferred individual ownership, a significant minority supported communal custodianship through village councils. Drawing on FFPLA principles, the study proposes an LADM-based framework that records communal and household-level rights while ensuring accessibility, upgradeability, and interoperability with Belize’s cadastral infrastructure. The model provides a replicable pathway for integrating indigenous land rights into national systems without undermining customary practices.
