Ethnic Research Articles

Need-support facilitates well-being across cultural, economic, and political contexts: A self-determination theory perspective

BackgroundSelf-determination theory (SDT) posits that teachers who engage in need-supportive teaching through satisfying students’ basic needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness facilitate optimal well-being. However, there are debates about the purported applicability and relevance of need-supportive teaching across cultural, economic, and political contexts. AimsThis study examined whether need-supportive teaching was associated with students’ subjective, eudaimonic, and cognitive well-being. These relationships were tested across different macro-contexts, including cultural, economic, and political systems. SampleWe drew on data from 535,512 students across 70 countries. These students came from diverse cultural groups (Western Europe, Eastern-Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Latin America, English-speaking, Confucian, Southeast Asia, and Africa and the Middle East), economic systems (high, upper-middle, and lower-middle-income), and political climates (full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid, and authoritarian regimes). MethodsConfirmatory factor analyses, structural equation modelling, and multi-group invariance tests were conducted. ResultsBy and large, need-supportive teaching was associated with better well-being across cultural, economic, and political contexts. However, the magnitude of associations was somewhat different across macro-contexts. Minor deviations from the general pattern were also found in a few cultural groups. ConclusionsAcross the globe, students who perceived their teachers to engage in need-supportive teaching were also more likely to experience better well-being. The results supported the universalist perspective, which recognizes the existence of broad universal patterns alongside contextual differences.

Characteristics of Sexual Health Programs for Migrants, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers: A Scoping Review.

Social, cultural, and structural determinants of health for migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers can contribute towards poorer sexual health outcomes. People from migrant, refugee, and asylum seeker backgrounds usually use less mainstream sexual healthcare services and have lower levels of sexual health literacy compared with the destination countries' general population. However, there is little collated knowledge about sexual health programs that have been implemented to improve sexual health among these groups. This study aimed to describe the characteristics of programs for improving sexual health among migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. This study was a scoping review in which Scopus and PubMed were searched for peer-reviewed articles published in English since 2010 from countries similar to and including Australia such as New Zealand, the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom, and European Union countries). The final search of databases was performed on 26 June 2023, and resultant studies were inputted into Endnote and Covidence systematic review software to remove duplicates before screening. The study utilised a qualitative approach using inductive thematic analysis of the content of the studies to extract and categorise the characteristics of the program. A total of 3044 articles were screened and 20 were included for data extraction. The included studies were conducted in six countries (the United States of America, Australia, France, Italy, Denmark, and Belgium). The key characteristics of sexual health programs identified included consumer consultation and engagement, cultural appropriateness, language support, peer education, self-directed learning, group learning, financial support, and outreach services. the programs had a combination of these characteristics to ensure that they can improve target population engagement with educational materials and decrease barriers to accessing sexual healthcare. Consideration of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers' culture, language, socioeconomic characteristics, and access to information and services in the design of the sexual health programs may improve sexual health outcomes among these groups. However, further research is needed to assess the importance and implementation feasibility of the identified characteristics for sexual health programs in specific context.

Cultural Taboos in Kusunda and Raute People of Nepal

The term taboo refers to the cultural prohibition practices by certain ethnic communities or societies. Its meaning is contextually different according to time, space, and ethnicity. It is the forbidden activities or behaviors and sometimes not accepted by the communities. The various taboos are grounded in traditional norms, values, ethics, or morality and are based on the religious beliefs of that specific community. Most of the ethnic communities of Nepal have specific totems and taboos that act as symbolic identities. This article is based on the cultural taboos of the two endangered ethnic communities of Nepal: Kusunda and Raute. They have some common and specific cultural taboos like the belief in the king of the forest, should not drink milk and should not eat or drink anything put in a milk pot, have the belief in the descendants of the Royal family, etc. This article explains the cultural taboos practiced by Nepal’s Kusunda, & Raute people. This article is based on the fieldwork study carried out on the different parts of Nepal where these people have traditionally inhabited.

Decomposition analysis to assess intervention strategies for reducing health-related exposure disparities in Michigan public drinking water systems

ObjectiveContamination in U.S. public drinking water systems (PWS) is estimated to cause millions of illnesses and billions of dollars in medical expenditures annually. Few prior studies have explored intervention strategies, including environmental enforcement, to reduce estimated health-related exposure disparities (exposure disparity) in PWS, which are driven partially by socioeconomic status (SES), racism, and PWS characteristics. MethodThis study used a longitudinal measurement method to estimate the annual health-related exposure level (health level) of each PWS in Michigan, based on data from the Enforcement and Compliance Online (ECHO) and U.S. Census Bureau databases. Using a decomposition model with four strategies, we analyzed how eliminating disparities in SES, proportion minority, environmental enforcement, and PWS characteristics across communities would affect adjusted exposure disparities. ResultsThis study found that adjusted race- and poverty-based exposure disparities have existed since the 1980s but might have decreased in the last one or two decades. PWS characteristics strongly impacted the crude and adjusted exposure disparity. Environmental enforcement, although less effective in minority-concentrated communities, reduced the adjusted race-based exposure disparity by 10%–20% in the 1980s, 8% in the 1990s, and 0.012% in the 2010s. Equalizing the poverty rate distribution reduced the adjusted race-based exposure disparity by 0.72% in the 1980s and 6.8% in the 2010s. However, equalizing racial and ethnic composition distribution increased the adjusted poverty-based exposure disparity in the 2000s. ConclusionThese findings indicate that economically disadvantaged or minority-concentrated communities in Michigan disproportionately suffer from poorer PWS quality. Enhanced environmental enforcement, increased household income, PWS investment, and other actions are needed to address these exposure disparities effectively.

Community perceptions on land and water acquisitions in the Okavango Delta: implications for rural livelihoods

ABSTRACT Large-scale land acquisitions in Africa are increasing, reported often as the transfers of land for food and biofuel crop production. Only reporting agricultural acquisitions underplays potential impacts of other forms of acquisitions like tourism and conservation, which are new engines for economic growth in Southern Africa. While this shift has complex social-ecological implications, there is limited evidence of the multiple ways that land acquisitions unfold in wetland ecosystems, and implications for people and nature. This study aims to investigate local perceptions of implications of land and water acquisitions on local livelihoods in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, using in-depth interviews with 116 local respondents in Etsha 6, Khwai and Tubu villages. Findings revealed that the primary drivers of land acquisitions in the Okavango Delta were tourism and subsistence agriculture, and a new and unique land exchange (we termed land borrowing) was prevalent in Tubu, involving the borrowing of farmland in flood recessions between locals. Concessions, borrowings, and rentals were key perceived land acquisition types. Both positive and negative impacts of land acquisitions on livelihoods surfaced. The diversity of cultural grouping influenced locals’ intricate connection with riparian waters and affected how land was exchanged and governed. The disparities in benefits from land resources have negative implications for equitable resource distribution and natural resource governance, in policy and practice. This research highlights the importance of an expanded view of acquisitions and associated impacts with closer attention to power dynamics which can facilitate more nuanced implementation of targets of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity framework.

Civil Rights, Fascism’s Legacy, and Italian American Material Culture in Scorsese’s Mean Streets

This essay offers a material culture reading of Martin Scorsese’s 1973 film, Mean Streets, highlighting how the film narrates not only a small-time criminal gang in working-class New York City but a decidedly Italian American one, caught within a specific time and place. The film, emphasizing a neorealist style, is full of visual reminders of the ways objects—the things of everyday life—inform and reflect the lived experiences of an ethnic community, one that is alive, changing, and resilient, even as it may seem to possess, and almost embrace, a closed and stagnant sense of itself. In particular, I focus on what I refer to as “silent presences” in the film, especially around the Italian-American Civil Rights League of the 1970s and a legacy of Fascism. In so doing, I demonstrate how the characters’ layered prejudices and ethnic boosterism are in part defined by and defining the setting of the film in a manner that ultimately keeps those same characters away from assimilation in a time period when their neighborhood is changing. Focusing on the objects and materiality that structures the film’s setting helps illustrate how the characters react against change, against wholesale assimilation, retaining and reshaping Italian American identity along the way.

A Study of Moral Development of Children and Good Habit Formation on Indian Child Rearing Practices Context

Different religious, political, and cultural groups in India hold different opinions on how children should be raised. Given the wide variety of Indian cultures and traditions, it would be unfair to generalise about Indian parenting practices. Each family's unique set of circumstances, including their financial situation, level of education, and life experiences, shape their approach to childrearing. This study has surveyed the existing literature and synthesised theoretical frameworks, drawing attention to the applicability of theories such as Piaget's phases of moral development, Kohlberg's theory of moral development, and Gilligan's ethics of caring in a variety of cultural contexts. With an emphasis on Indian child-rearing techniques, this study investigates how family dynamics, cultural values, and socio-economic factors impact children's ethical thinking and behaviour. Important topics covered include how moral principles are passed down through families and communities, how religious teachings are included into the process of ethical development, and how digital media influences the way moral decisions are made. Aiming to promote moral reasoning and positive habit formation in children, the article also evaluated empirical studies and meta-analyses that highlight beneficial educational interventions and parenting techniques. The findings from this review states that children are fed with cultural learnings; however, this method does seems to be always positive and moral development of children and good habit formation among them is very important.

‘I know more Korean than the brides’: migrant categorisations and intra-group heterogeneity within the Vietnamese community in South Korea

ABSTRACT This paper examines the representative and performative aspects of the legal title ‘marriage migrant’, which surrounds the everyday lives of Vietnamese women who married South Korean men. While previous studies have predominantly addressed how categorisation by receiving states reproduces certain identities and treatments for those on the move, little is known about how it influences migrants’ behaviour. Drawn on observations and in-depth interviews with Vietnamese women married to South Korean men, this paper demonstrates that the category ‘marriage migrant’ not only carries gendered and socioeconomic hierarchised identities but further shapes Vietnamese women’s actions in response to those responsibilities and classifications. The research findings emphasise how categorisation and discourse reconfigure ethnic networks at the intersection of gender, class, and mobility. This study offers a nuanced understanding of intra-group dynamics within migrant communities, highlighting the implications of migrant agencies in categorising politics.

Cultural Differences in Daily Coupling of Subjective Views of Aging and Negative Affect.

The established link between subjective views of aging (VoA) and well-being shows variations across different cultures. Although VoA show daily fluctuations, little is known about cultural differences in such fluctuations and the daily coupling of VoA and well-being. We compared Israeli Arabs to Israeli Jews in the daily coupling of VoA and negative affect (NA). Community-dwelling older adults (N = 76, Mage = 66.71) completed measures of subjective age, subjective accelerated aging, ageist attitudes, and NA over 14 consecutive days. Respondents reported higher daily NA when they felt older, reported to be aging faster, or had more ageist attitudes. The daily coupling between subjective age/subjective accelerated aging and NA was stronger among Israeli Arabs compared to Israeli Jews. There was no such interaction with ageist attitudes. It is important to adopt a cultural perspective when investigating daily fluctuations in VoA and their correlates. In applied contexts, this might help to identify cultural groups that are particularly sensitive to the effects of VoA.

Living and dying between cultural traditions in African & Caribbean Heritage families: a constructivist grounded theory

BackgroundEthnic differences influence end-of-life health behaviours and use of palliative care services. Use of formal Advance care planning is not common in minority ethnic heritage communities. Older adults expect and trust their children to be their decision makers at the end of life. The study aim was to construct a theory of the dynamics that underpin end-of-life conversations within families of African and Caribbean heritage. This is a voice not well represented in the current debate on improving end-of-life outcomes.MethodsUsing Charmaz’s constructivist grounded theory approach, a purposive sample of elders, adult-children, and grandchildren of African and Caribbean Heritage were recruited. In-person and online focus groups were conducted and analysed using an inductive, reflexive comparative analysis process. Initial and axial coding facilitated the creation of categories, these categories were abstracted to constructs and used in theory construction.ResultsElders (n = 4), adult-children (n = 14), and adult grandchildren (n = 3) took part in 5 focus groups. A grounded theory of living and dying between cultural traditions in African and Caribbean heritage families was created. The constructs are (a) Preparing for death but not for dying (b) Complexity in traditions crosses oceans (c) Living and dying between cultures and traditions (d) There is culture, gender and there is personality (e) Watching the death of another prompts conversations. (f) An experience of Hysteresis.DiscussionAfrican and Caribbean cultures celebrate preparation for after-death processes resulting in early exposure to and opportunities for discussion of these processes. Migration results in reforming of people’s habitus/ world views shaped by a mixing of cultures. Being in different geographical places impacts generational learning-by-watching of the dying process and related decision making.ConclusionsRecognising the impact of migration on the roles of different family members and the exposure of those family members to previous dying experiences is important. This can provide a more empathetic and insightful approach to partnership working between health care professionals and patients and families of minority ethic heritage facing serious illness. A public health approach focusing on enabling adult-children to have better end of life conversations with their parents can inform the development of culturally competent palliative care.

Food insecurity: The resilient, but “silent poverty” perspectives of older ethnic minority individuals within UK communities

AbstractFood insecurity is acknowledged as a key social determinant of health among older adults. Despite recording significantly higher levels of poverty in comparison to white ethnic groups, older individuals from ethnic minorities are under‐represented as recipients of food aid. Thus, there are knowledge gaps in our understanding of older people and their experiences of food insecurity within ethnic minority communities. Through the theoretical lens of Individual and Community Resilience, we empirically advance our understanding of food security and resilience within South Asian communities via in‐depth interviews with community stakeholders and older individuals from Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities across the Greater Manchester region. Our findings reveal that the integration of temporal, environmental and social constructs within a resilience framework reveals significant potential for further negative social, cultural and economic impact on older ethnic minorities in the future, especially as current food support services do not appear to cater for ethnic dietary preferences, language accessibility and/or cultural norms regarding asking for help/charity outside the home. We predict therefore, in combination with the identified persistent stressors, that food insecurity issues within older ethnic minority communities are likely to get much worse, resulting in the need for extensive resilient capacities to cope with future cost‐of‐living challenges. In acknowledging previous limitations within previous resilience frameworks, we propose an incremental contribution to theory and conclude by identifying culturally and operationally appropriate food support system approaches, which can be used to address the increasing prevalence of “silent poverty” within ethnic minority communities.

A bibliographic account on entomophagy in India: past records, recent trends and future prospects (1945-2023)

Abstract The use of insects as’ food and feed’ is rapidly increasing due to global population growth and rising food demands. Over the past few decades, this immediate popularity of edible insects has led to a substantial upsurge in research publications on edible insects. The present study aimed to bibliographically analyze the status of work done on edible insects throughout India and provide its comprehensive review. Articles published from 1945 to December 2023 were retrieved from Scopus and non-Scopus databases using web search engines like Google Scholar and PubMed using keywords such as ‘entomophagy,’ ‘food insects,’ and ‘edible insects.’ These were then analyzed based on publication category, leading authors and publishers, active states, and journals. Between 1945 and 2023, 219 articles on entomophagy in India were published by Indian authors. This analysis highlights the historical inclusion of insects in Indian diets, particularly among ethnic communities in the North-East Region (NER), and identifies key researchers advancing this field. The findings indicate that India has the potential to become a hub for insect supplement manufacturing. Current research shows a unidirectional focus, emphasizing the need for greater collaboration among Indian researchers to drive further progress. This study serves as a pioneering effort in performing a bibliographic analysis of publications on edible insects in India and assessing the progress this practice has made in terms of consumer acceptance and its future development as a promising food resource.

Disinformation against Crimean Tatars in Russian Social Media

This article examines the persistence of Tatarophobia against Crimean Tatars in the Russian segment of social media during the first year of the full-scale invasion (24 February 2022–24 February 2023). A total of 4,435 posts from various social media platforms, including Facebook, Odnoklassniki, Telegram, Twitter, and Vkontakte, were analysed. The discourse predominantly echoes Russia’s imperial and Soviet-era narratives, along with xenophobic and oppressive rhetoric exacerbated by the full-fledged invasion. The propaganda seeks to cultivate a negative perception of Crimean Tatars as an ethnic community, manipulating cultural and historical aspects related to them. Additionally, it endeavours to construct an adversarial image of relations between Ukraine and the Crimean Tatars, as well as of Ukraine’s current policies. Russian special services perceive the capacity of Crimean Tatars to self-organize, establish volunteer units, or organize blockades as a threat. The propaganda effort not only fosters harassment and hate speech but also encourages peninsula residents to view them as “unreliable elements” deserving of suppression.

Living both here and there: a study of identity construction among Korean-Chinese elites in an international metropolis

ABSTRACT This study explores how college graduates from an ethnic minority group, bilingual Korean-Chinese, negotiate and reconstruct their identities in the scale-changing process as they move from ethnic minority communities to an international metropolis in China. Drawing on the notion of scale, this study used data collected from semi-structured interviews with 24 bilingual Korean-Chinese participants in Shanghai to explore their lived experiences. Their language use in social media was also tracked and recorded over a period of four months. The findings reveal that most of the participating bilingual Korean-Chinese elites flexibly moved across the spatial–temporal scale and the social scale, situationally adapting their language use to the environment and for various communicative purposes. As such, they retained their ethnic identity while accommodating new identities, achieving a reconciled ‘amphibious identity’ by ‘living both here and there.’ The remainder of the participants chose to use either Chinese or Korean, under the influence of their monolingual language ideology, and developed a marginalised or replacement identity. This study contributes a more fine-grained and non-reductionist understanding of ethnic minority migrants’ construction of identity in a situation of mobility and its relation to their language practices across different scales.

Ethnic integration in the “Lin-ge” migration epic: a grassroots perspective

This study comprehensively analyzes China’s ethnic migration epic, “Lin-ge,” as a case study to explore the cultural and social phenomena it reveals about exchanges, communication and integration among ethnic groups. It reveals how this process has facilitated mutual understanding and integration among diverse ethnic communities from a grassroots level. Focusing on inter-ethnic religious syncretism, economic interactions, warfare exchanges, trade practices, and intermarriages depicted in “Lin-ge,” the research showcases the complexity and dynamism of ethnic integration. It emphasizes the pivotal role of regional community identity in bridging different ethnic groups and forming the foundational cultural logic behind the identity of the Chinese national community. Through textual analysis, this study finds that “Lin-ge” transcends the boundaries between official and folk, sacred and secular, and historical and contemporary narratives, presenting a more inclusive and diversified perspective of the Chinese national community. The research highlights that the syncretism of religious beliefs, cultural exchanges, and social practices are key mechanisms in shaping the identity of regional social communities and promoting harmonious coexistence among various ethnic groups. Moreover, by reviewing extensive literature and conducting case analyses, this study provides a thorough understanding of China’s ethnic policies, ethnic relations, and the formation and development of multi-ethnic communities. The findings are not only of significant academic relevance to the fields of ethnology and anthropology but also offer practical guidance for addressing ethnic issues and promoting ethnic unity and national integration in modern society.

Antihyperglycemic Potential of Quercetin-3-glucoside Isolated from Leucaena leucocephala Seedpods via the SIRT1/AMPK/GLUT4 Signaling Cascade.

Leucaena leucocephala. (Lam.) de Wit, a traditional medicinal plant, has been reported among the ethnic communities of Mexico, Indonesia, China, and India for the treatment of diabetes, obesity, and related complications. This study investigates the antihyperglycemic activity of the plant and its isolated active compound quercetin-3-glucoside. Further, bioactivity guided marker assisted development of an enriched bioactive fraction toward enhancing insulin sensitization was carried out. The enriched fraction was also found to contain 397.96 mg/g of quercetin-3-glucoside along with three other marker compounds, which were also isolated and identified. Quercetin-3-glucoside, out of the four isolated marker compounds from the plant, showed the most significant bioactivity when tested in palmitate-induced insulin-resistant C2C12 myotubes. The compound also showed significant upregulation of sirtuin1 (SIRT1) followed by enhancement of insulin-dependent signaling molecules SIRT1/AMPK/PGC1-α and GLUT4 translocation. Molecular dynamics studies showed the compound having stable interactions with the SIRT1 protein. SIRT1 upregulation has been associated with enhanced insulin sensitivity in skeletal muscle, increasing the glucose uptake by muscle cells. The prepared enriched fraction also modulated the SIRT1/AMPK/GLUT4 pathway. The findings of the present study may find future application toward the development of botanical or phytopharmaceutical drugs from the traditionally important plant L. leucocephala against type II diabetes.

A comparative study of in-vivo wound healing properties of Tithonia Diversifolia. A gray crude extracts to Silver Sulphadiazine in Albino Wistar rats.

One species of flowering plant in the Asteraceae family is Tithonia diversifolia A. Gray (T. diversifolia), which grows as a shrub or weed. Significant anti-infective therapeutic characteristics, such as anti-mycobacterial, antifungal, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-malaria, and anthelmintic effects, have been discovered in the plant's extracts. Ethnic communities have been using the plant extract to cure wounds. They appear to prefer it above conventional treatments in many circumstances, to the point where their aqueous solution may be smuggled into medical institutions in order to augment the care provided. The purpose of this study was to compare T. diversifolia with silver sulphadiazine's capacity for wound healing. For 72 hours, a 70% ethanol alone and water alone was used to extract the plant. After the extracts dried out, the powder was measured and 10 mL of reconstituted volume was assessed at various concentrations for the purpose of treating wounds. Silver sulphadiazine was used as the positive control and distilled water as the negative control. According to the findings, the aqueous extract had a 48.0% healing rate after 14 days of treatment, ethanol had a 20.0% healing rate, and silver sulphadiazine had a 22.0% healing rate. It is possible to draw the conclusion that the aqueous extract concentration of 0.6 mg/10 mL demonstrated a higher healing percentage than silver sulphadiazine and the ethanol extract.

Emerging Opportunities in Blue Tourism

The ocean has intrinsic value that attracts people for various reasons including residence and recreation. Blue tourism has become one of the most popular forms of tourism in coastal and marine environments. This commentary considers the emerging opportunities in the blue tourism sector, which refers to the application of sustainability practices in coastal and marine tourism. The article considers the therapeutic nature of the ocean environment and how this may be linked to health tourism, which includes wellness tourism and medical tourism. Water has been proven to be very effective as a therapeutic agent and combining these characteristics with tourism creates unique opportunities for blue tourism businesses. The ocean also has strong spiritual value to many different cultural and religious groups, and this can be a valuable draw card for cultural heritage and religious tourists. Tourism products could include packages that allow tourists to witness unique cultural practices that take place in and around the ocean. With blue tourism, and its implicit link to sustainability, there is significant potential for tourism to help reach some of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The commentary further considers emerging issues for blue tourism in a postCOVID‐19 environment as they relate to technological advancements through virtual and augmented reality experiences.

Visual presentation of the ethnic image of the Chuvash in cyberspace (using the example of social networks «VKontakte» and «Odnoklassniki»)

The article examines representational practices and mechanisms for the formation of visual images of Chuvash ethnicity in cyberspace. The purpose of this study is to determine the forms and methods of representing ethnicity, mechanisms and means of forming a visual ethnic image of the Chuvash in virtual space using the example of the social networks Odnoklassniki and VKontakte. The research is based on the study of visual content (posts, comments on them, discussions) in groups and on personal pages, materials from a mass survey of users of these social networks. The result of the study was a detailed description of the features of the formation and transmission of visual images of Chuvash ethnicity: visual sources, methods of visualization, functions and demand for visual content. The study showed that the visualization of the ethnic image of the Chuvash in cyberspace occurs through the symbolization of plots of ethnic history, elements of material and spiritual culture, through the use in the process of forming an ethnic image of fairy-tale, mythological, literary and real characters and pages of history, popular forms of representation of folk traditions – costume, national cuisine, holidays and rituals. Visual content is represented by photo and video materials, films, computer graphics, and animation. Visualization of ethnic content contributes to the stereotyping of the features of an ethnic image, acts as a means of constructing an ethnic image, a way of expressing belonging to an ethnic community, transmitting knowledge about the history of the traditional culture of the people, intra-ethnic communication, exchanging information between network users and their integration into the virtual space.

Research on the Implementation of Customary Law in the Protection of Forests and Forest Land by Ethnic Minorities in Đắk Lắk Province (Vietnam) today

Livelihood methods and the transition from subsistence production to commodity production are factors affecting current communities and also influence the changes in nature and the capacity of communities in managing and using natural resources. This article is conducted based on the collection, evaluation, and analysis of current Vietnamese legal documents and policies on Land, Forest Protection and Development, Civil Codes, sub-law resolutions, and other local documents. It also involves analyzing documents on the current state of forests, forest land, ethnic minority groups, and their customary laws. The content of the article provides an overall picture of the current state of using customary law in the management and use of forests and forest land in ethnic minority communities at the study sites.