ABSTRACT
Introduction Fiji lies in the Pacific Ocean midway between the Equator and the South Pole, and between longitudes 175 and 178 west and latitude 15 and 22 south. The 180th meridian cuts through Fiji, but the International Dateline is towards the east and thus the entire group shares the same day. The national territory contains some 330 islands, however, only about 100 of these are inhabited. The total land area is approximately 18,000 square kilometres. The two largest islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, account for about 87 per cent of the total land area and contain most of the population and economic activities. The islands of the Fiji Group are volcanic in origin and generally mountainous with only 16 percent of the land being suitable for agriculture. In 1996, the population amounted to 772,655 with a multiethnic composition: Fijians 51 per cent; Indians 43 per cent and others 6 per cent. The category others comprises people of Chinese, European, partly European, Rotuman and other origins. Land tenure in Fiji Land tenure defines the way in which people ‘own’ an interest in land and how they use it (Boydell and Reddy, 2000). It is the system in any society for holding land, which is governed by statute, local custom or a combination of both. To gain an appreciation of the current land tenure system in Fiji it is important to recognize the impact that history has had on the holding and ownership of land. The Deed of Cession in 1874 laid the foundation for Fiji’s land tenure system by recognizing the native Fijians as the first inhabitants of Fiji thereby guaranteeing them the lion share of the national acreage. After 1874 when the British colonial rule began land
tenure patterns were fixed; the rights of Fijians in the land were guaranteed and rights of Europeans and other foreigners who had acquired land in a bona fide manner prior to 1874 were also recognized. The land problem in Fiji is complex in nature primarily because unlike in many other countries beyond the South Pacific region, most of it is under communal ownership. Of the total land area, 3.91 per cent is held by the government, 8.15 per cent is held as freehold, the Fijian landowning units (native land) hold 87.94 per cent and Rotuman land 0.25 per cent (see Table 3.1). Since the small portion of state and freehold land was not sufficient for the demands for agricultural, leasehold land, native land, which is inalienable, was opened up for agricultural development. This land was leased out to tenants under the provision of the 1880 Native Land Ordinance, then through the Native Land Trust Board and the Native Land Trust Act of 1940, and later under the Agricultural Land Ordinance of 1966 and the Agricultural Landlord and Tenant Act (ALTA) of 1976. Table 3.1 Fijian land tenure statistics Type % Owner Area Native land 83.29 Community owned land 1,615,940 Crown land 8.41 Crown freehold 67,068 Freehold 8.06 General public 147,448 Rotuma 0.24 Rotuman People 4,452 100.00 1,829,908 Source: Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources The land tenure system in Fiji comprises of three main types of land: • native land; • crown / state land; and • freehold land. Native land Approximately 7,000 square miles of Fiji’s total land area, representing some 87.94 per cent is classified as native land and is owned by individual
land-owning units and administered through the Native Lands Trust Board on behalf of the owners. Native lands may be leased or occupancy granted under licence for different urban uses but cannot be sold unlike freehold land. Rents on native leasehold land is regulated at 6 per cent of the unimproved capital vale of the land and is reassessed every 5 years. Native land is classified as being either Native Reserve and Non-Reserve land. The essential differences between these two types of land are: • that Native reserve can only be used by Fijians; • that the majority of the land owning unit must approve the granting
of a license/lease on Native Reserve; and • that Native Reserves are not be subject to the Agricultural
Landlordand Tenants Act. Crown or State land Crown or State land that is administered by Government’s Lands Department and is governed by Crowns Lands Act, Chap. 113 and 132, Laws of Fiji and Crowns Lands (leases and licenses) Regulation 1980. This is described as:
There are several different types of state land (Boydell and Reddy, 2000): • Schedule A land; is former native land, which has fallen to the state
by virtue of the extinction of the members of the owning mataqali and now reverted to native land;
• Schedule B land; land that was not occupied nor claimed by Fijians when the Native Land Commission determined areas of native land and now reverted to native land;
• State freehold; land bought over the years either from holders of Crown Grants issued in consequences of the findings at Lands Claim Commission or directly from the Fijians during the period 19051908;
• Crown land without title; • Crown Tiri; • Crown foreshore; and • Native land acquired by the Crown.
