Indigenous people

1. INDIGENOUS LAND RIGHTS,
GOVERNANCE AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT: THE CASE OF
SWEDEN
Chris McDonald
17th Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous
Issues
United Nations, New York
April 17th, 2018

2. 1. Who are we?
2. Why are we doing this work and what will it deliver?
3. How are we thinking about Indigenous economic development in a
place-based context?
4. What are our initial observations about Sweden?
5. What have we learnt?
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Presentation outline

3. 3
• The OECD provides an international forum for governments to work together: 35
member countries, and works closely with partner, accession and non-member countries
• We also work with representatives of industry and labour through advisory committees,
and are actively engaged with civil society organisations.
• Peer review: each country’s policy in a particular area is examined by fellow members on
an equal basis). Our work is supported by data and engagement with stakeholders.
• The Regional Development Policy Committee (RDPC), established in 1999, oversees
work related to policies in regions, rural areas and cities (see
http://www.oecd.org/cfe/regional-policy/regionaldevelopment.htm)
• We are interested in place-based policies: using regional specific assets, adapting
policies to the regional and local level, aligning objectives and implementation across
levels of government.
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD)

4. • Indigenous peoples are important economic actors, particularly in rural remote
areas (land, human capital, absolute advantage of culture and traditional knowledge)
• Indigenous peoples are generally not well-integrated with markets, which can
reinforce dependency relationships, inequalities, and result in missed opportunities
• There tends to be a lack of governance capacity within Indigenous communities in
rural areas to effectively shape and implement development strategies
• Policy and governance arrangements and programme instruments to promote
development in rural and remote areas are not effectively adapted to Indigenous
forms of social organisation, cultural context and livelihoods
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Motivation for this work

5. • Launch of project in September 2017 in Wendake, Quebec
• Study missions and events in Australia, Canada, Sweden, and with the
European Commission (including Indigenous peer reviewers)
• Country case studies of Australia, Canada and Sweden
• Thematic report synthesising policy lessons from across OECD and some
non-member countries
• Launch of the project in May/June 2019 in Canada
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Outputs and activities

6. Self-determined
indigenous economic
development in a place-
based context
Better understanding
Indigenous economies
in a place-based context
Developing a more
coherent approach to
policies that empowers
Indigenous
communities
Making land
governance work for
Indigenous economic
development
Fostering the
sustainability and
growth of Indigenous
owned businesses
Functional geography (inc. community, clan, nation)
Identifying and mobilising community assets (inclusive of
Indigenous values and perspectives)
Fostering linkages with regional  global markets
Assessing progress over time compared to similar regions and
communities
Classification of land gov. arrangements based on level of
authority (self-governance, joint management, co-existence)
Challenges and lessons for Indigenous economic development
related to each classification (e.g institutional, financial)
Efficacy of benefit sharing mechanisms in activating
opportunities for Indigenous economic development
Place-based vision and priorities for development (tradeables,
product differentiation, enabling factors)
Regulatory framework for business and investment on
Indigenous lands and surrounding territories
Access to capital and markets (financial intermediation and
procurement)
Capacity of Indigenous communities to manage regional
economic development (financial management, leadership,
brokers, accountability and legitimacy)
Policy coherence at a community level (addressing gaps and
duplication between levels of gov, administrative burdens)
Analytical framework:
Linking Indigenous
communities with
Regional Development
Cultural match in public institutions (platforms for meaningful
strategic and operational dialogue)

7. 7
Sami and the case of Sweden: contextual issues
and what it means for the project
Contextual issues What is means for the project
Sami identity is complex and extends
across four countries
Consider institutional engagement and relationships
at multiple scales – local, regional, national and
supra-national
Rights frameworks fracture Sami identity:
reindeer herding Sami hold rights to land use,
hunting and fishing - others do not
Engage with a diversity of actors that participate in
livelihoods linked to Sami culture and identity –
reindeer herding, hunting and fishing, handicrafts,
tourism, arts and culture
State policies/programmes for Sami are
focused on supporting language and culture
and reindeer herding - links to wider regional
and rural development policies are weaker
Develop an argument about why the diverse range of
Sami economic activity is important to the future
development and well-being of northern Sweden
Sami economy has limited visibility (lack of
data, and cultural competency in the public
sector)
Gather the different sources of data and information
to build a coherent picture about the Sami economy
in northern Sweden
Policy and governance for regional and rural
development in Sweden is changing
Identify new opportunities for engagement and
inclusion of the Sami in this changing policy
landscape

8. • Amount of land and how it is used (e.g. one-third of Australia is covered
by native title)
• Applying a typology of Indigenous land governance based on level of
authority:
– Self-governance (self-governing capacity, attributed by treaty, delegated powers)
– Joint management (responsibility shared with government authority)
– Co-existence (participation in decision-making and consultation)
• Benefit sharing agreements (negotiated agreements with corporations)
• Assessing challenges and lessons, and how they shape regional
development outcomes
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Indigenous land governance: our approach

9. • Rule frameworks about natural resources: whether Indigenous rights, values and
interests are recognised (or not)
• Policy and decision-making cycle: When Indigenous people are included—
meaningful input to strategic frameworks, or project-based and late in the process
• Engagement procedures: Locations, timing and procedures of engagement,
language and format of meetings, the information provided
• Public and private sector capacity and skills: Level of cultural understanding,
respect and sensitivity (e.g. traditional knowledge, respecting who has authority to
speak and how consensus is reached within communities, and community specific
issues) in terms of engagement procedures
• Community capacity: Community socio-economic conditions and decision-making
capacities, and resources provided to support engagement
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Challenges and lessons (co-existence model)

10. Challenges and
lessons
Our initial observations in Sweden
Rule frameworks Natural resource development and Sami reindeer husbandry co-
exist as issues of national interest
Policy and decision-
making cycle
Some engagement is strategic (e.g. Lapponia) but mostly
conflicts are dealt with on a project-by-project basis
Engagement
procedures
Variable quality and it depends on who is engaging
Public and private
sector capacity and
skills
Some good examples in the public sector (local, regional, and
national) but impacted by limited visibility and understanding
about the Sami
Community capacity Sami villages and other organisations are pressed for
consultation on wide range of issues with limited time and
resources to engage
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Sami and the case of Sweden: land use and
economic development

11. • Indigenous societies are diverse with many voices
• Respect to other ways of knowing – about development goals, relationships
with nature, cultural obligations, kinship relations etc.
• Indigenous peer-reviewers and community “brokers” facilitate meaningful
dialogue
• Rights and legal framework fundamentally shape access to resources
and opportunities
• OECD place-based development approach based on utilising community
assets seems to make sense (within a well-being framework)
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Lessons

12. THANK YOU FOR YOUR
ATTENTION
HTTP://WWW.OECD.ORG/CFE/REGIONAL-
POLICY/INDIGENOUS-COMMUNITIES.HTM
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