Customary Land should be protected at all costs.
That’s the main message behind the newly released song “Lukautim Graun”.
The song is a collaboration between Starbox Production and Act Now!
Act Now! is a community advocacy group that has highly spoken against Land Registration and the importance of protecting Customary Land.
Starbox Band Manager Willie Sarenga said the Production Company are humbled to work with Act Now! to produce this important song that promotes and protects customary land.
“We are glad to partner with ACT NOW! to promote this very important message.
“Music has the power if utilised well can create better understanding, awareness and hopefully create positive changes in our communities”, said Starbox Band Manager, Willie Sarenga.
In Papua New Guinea it is estimated that 97% of the country is still under customary land tenure and 85% of our population rely on customary land for all the essentials of life.
Act Now advocates that in Papua New Guinea, customary land supports sustainable livelihoods, a vibrant economy, social inclusion, community control and good governance.
“It is our most important national asset!”
Act Now! promotes that the concept of protecting customary land is a total contradiction to the westerners, foreign governments, big corporations and financial institutions and how they view customary land.
“In the West, land is simply viewed as an economic commodity or asset that can be bought and sold just like any other goods or services.
“All land has fixed boundaries and each parcel of land is owned and controlled by an individual person or company. Often the owner does not live on the land and one person can own many pieces of land in different places and even in different countries.
“It is a criminal offence to go onto someone else’s land without their permission and strict penalties including imprisonment can be applied.”
In the West all land is controlled by the same national laws and if disputes happen, they have to be settled by the courts.
This is all very different from customary land In Papua New Guinea.
“As the country turns 50 this year, its important for us to reflect on so many things and one of them is on the most important asset all of us have- customary land. Time to rethink and refocus on the management of our natural resources wisely for today’s and tomorrow’s future. We are only custodians. We are inspired and looking forward to more of similar engagements to promote very important messages”, said Sarenga.
The song can be found on the Act Now! Youtube channel.
