INDIGENOUS LAND RIGHTS AND NATURE CONSERVATION LAWS IN MALAYSIA: AN EVALUATION OF INDIGENOUS POWERS OF MANAGEMENT
Both international and domestic research and developments suggest that Indigenous peoples are vital partners in the sustainable management of nature conservation. While recognition of Indigenous rights to their lands and resources may be warranted in this regard, the integration of legally enforceable Indigenous rights to land and conservation strategies has remained a challenge.
This paper examines the principal Indigenous land rights and nature conservation laws in Malaysia with a view to determine the extent to which local Indigenous communities are formally empowered to manage nature conservation within their traditional lands and territories. It does so by analysing the relevant laws within the jurisdictions of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak and Sabah, state-led initiatives toward local Indigenous management of nature conservation, and key national policies and plans concerning conservation.
Despite an increased role for local Indigenous participation in nature conservation efforts, legal powers of management and control over nature conservation remains stacked in favour of the governments concerned and their agencies. Significant national strategies appear mixed, suggesting uncertainty if there is concerted governmental intent to share effective legal power with Indigenous communities for the management of nature conservation within their localities.
DR. YOGESWARAN SUBRAMANIAM
Centre for Malaysian Indigenous Studies, University of Malaya & High Court of Malaya
Dr. Yogeswaran Subramaniam LLB, LLM, MBA, PhD is an Advocate and Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya, who specialises in Indigenous land rights. He holds a doctoral degree in law from the University of New South Wales for his research on Orang Asli land rights and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. He has acted as legal counsel in a number of significant Orang Asli and native customary land rights cases. He is an associate of the Centre forMalaysian Indigenous Studies at the University of Malaya and has published numerous scholarly works and other materials on Indigenous land rights related themes and issues.
From 2010 to 2025, Dr Yoges served as a member of the Malaysian Bar Council Committee on Orang Asli Rights including terms as Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson. He has previously advised Malaysian federal government agencies and the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) on Indigenous land rights and reform initiatives.