The role of property and land title in access to communally-held land and resources is the subject of a new book, edited by Professor Lee Godden and Associate Professor Maureen Tehan from Melbourne Law School.

The National Native Title Tribunal’s Geospatial Services manager Peter Bowen is one of 15 experts who contributed chapters to the book, Comparative Perspectives on Communal Lands and Individual Ownership: Sustainable Futures.

Federal Court judge Justice Tony North launched the book at Melbourne Law School’s Centre for Resources, Energy and Environmental Law on 20 April.

According to the publisher, Routledge, the book makes an important contribution to debates about common land and resource governance.

The publisher describes the book as a collection of national and international case studies which assess the effectiveness of property law and tenure models, developed around the concepts of individual ownership, for achieving long-term environmental and economic sustainability for indigenous people and local communities.

The case studies look at progress around the world, providing an opportunity to compare the situation in Australia, North America, Africa, Peru, New Zealand and the Pacific region.

The book was developed after a land tenure workshop convened by Professor Godden and Associate Professor Tehan. 

Contributors are from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa, are mainly lawyers and academics and include essays from Marcia Langton and the Australian Human Rights Commission’s former Social Justice Commissioner Tom Calma.

South African Constitutional Court judge Justice Albie Sachs wrote the preface to the book.
 
Peter Bowen’s chapter ‘Spatial technologies, mapping and the native title process’ is in the book’s ‘Issues for communal lands and resources in Australia’ section.

“This book examines a range of issues that may be relevant to discussion about native title, including indigenous land rights and use of communal lands,” Mr Bowen said.

“The focus of the book is how property law and access to land relates to economic sustainability for indigenous people and local communities.

“People involved in the native title process may gain from the book’s discussion about some of the more complex issues related to land, with experts from around the world contributing chapters about their experiences.

“I explain the significance of geospatial information in the native title process and how it is applied to assist stakeholders achieve timely and effective outcomes.”

The book is available in libraries or can be ordered online. For more information see the links on the right of this page.