Local and indigenous communities across the world are advancing innovative sustainable development solutions that work for people and for nature. Few publications or case studies tell the full story of how such initiatives evolve, the breadth of their impacts, or how they change over time.

The paper is a desk study prepared as a basis for discussion and further field research into land tenure and conflict in the region.The first section provides an overview of land tenure and land utilization issues.

There is much interest in using customary marine tenure (CMT) as a basis for community-based fisheries management (CBFM) in the Pacific Island Countries (PICs). The laws of PICs lend general support to the use of CMT or tradition in fisheries management.

FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) and other development partners are working together with countries to prepare Voluntary Guidelines that will provide practical guidance to states, civil society, the private sector, donors and development specialists on the responsible