Valuing the ‘bundle of land rights’: On formalising indigenous people's (adivasis) land rights in Kerala, India

Indigenous people's struggles in South India for the last four decades have been centred on the general politics of land rights. However, struggles in the recent past have been clearly delineated as striving to not merely gain access to land for cultivation, but also to claim formal individual titles to parcels of land. Taking this as the point of departure, a study was undertaken with the objective of assessing the willingness to pay (WTP) for obtaining management rights as well as individual titles to land among the indigenous people in Kerala, using the contingent valuation method (CVM). Two types of land market exist in the region: the adivasi land market and the general land market. The adivasi land market is imperfect and transactions are restricted to within the indigenous population. This study shows that indigenous people are willing to pay a higher amount than the existing market price for adivasi lands. The WTP for obtaining formal management rights for adivasi land is estimated to be 20.75 per cent of the existing general land market price while the WTP for obtaining formal ownership rights is 32.63 per cent.

► We analyse the existing land right structure in indigenous areas.
► Hierarchical property rights are examined using willingness to pay method.
► Existing land market is imperfect and transactions are limited.
► Indigenous people attach high value to obtain formal land rights.