Under the Vanuatu constitution, the 'rules of custom shall form the basis of ownership and use of land.' Implementing this principle after decades of land alienation, however, has proved to be challenging. While the leasing arrangement was originally intended to restore investor confidence and...

As in other societies in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, customary social organization features strongly in rural Timor-Leste. As well as providing avenues for conflict resolution, the influence of customary systems extends to land tenure. As the state, development partners, private investors,...