ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how modernizing efforts of the new regional administration and development initiatives interact with customary norms related to land and land-based livelihoods. It explains some key concepts underlying land claims, use, and access in Oecusse-Ambeno. The chapter outlines some of the principles and statements about land that have been part of the early phases of implementing the Zonas Especiais de Economia Social de Mercado (ZEESM) initiative. It highlights some of the ways in which Oecusse residents navigated and mutually accommodated the customary and modernizing elements to shape their lives in late 2015, during the early phases of intensive infrastructure construction and related land appropriation by the state. State-funded spatial reordering and land acquisition by the state are deemed foundational to the creation of the special economic zone, and are also emphasized as critical to the success of the 500-year celebration.
