10 26 and use the natural resources. In contrast to a comarca, recognition as a reserva does not entail the State granting the community that inhabits it collective property rights to a geographically demarcated and delimited space, or official recognition of their traditional forms of political organization and decision27 making. 50. In addition, Article 127 of the Panamanian Constitution – a provision that exists in terms 28 similar to those of the 1946 Constitution -- recognizes the collective property rights of the indigenous communities and establishes that a determination will be made by law of the specific procedures for their recognition. That provision establishes as follows: The State shall guarantee the indigenous communities the reserve of the lands necessary and collective property rights to them for the attainment of their economic and social wellbeing. The Law shall regulate the procedures that should be followed for attaining this purpose, and the corresponding delimitations, within which the private appropriation of land is prohibited. 51. On December 23, 2008, Law 72 was adopted; it “establishes the special procedure for 29 the adjudication of the collective property rights of the indigenous peoples who are not in the comarcas,” and is regulated by Executive Decree 223 of July 7, 2010. According to Article 1, the purpose of that law is to establish the special procedure for the adjudication, free of charge, of the collective property rights to lands traditionally occupied by the indigenous peoples and communities, in furtherance of Article 127 of 30 the Constitution. The provision establishes the Ministry of Agricultural Development as the competent 31 authority for carrying out that procedure. Law 72 establishes among its provisions that collective title to the property rights over lands guarantees the economic, social, and cultural wellbeing of the persons who live in the indigenous community. It further provides that in case of usurpation or invasion of the lands recognized through the titling of collective property rights, the competent authorities should enforce the property rights over those areas. It also establishes that government and private agencies will coordinate with the traditional authorities regarding the plans, programs, and projects that will be developed in their 32 areas so as to ensure the free, prior, and informed consent of the indigenous peoples and communities. 26 In this respect, Article 98 of the General Law on the Environment establishes: “The right of the comarcas and indigenous peoples with respect to the use, management, and traditional tapping of the renewable natural resources located within the comarcas and indigenous reserves established by law is recognized. These resources should be used in keeping with the aims of environmental protection and conservation established in the Constitution, this statute, and all other national statutes.” 27 Among the statutes that recognize “indigenous reserves” is Law 59 of December 12, 1930, which declares as indigenous reserves “the barren lands in the Atlantic Coast region”; Law 18 of November 8, 1934, which declares indigenous reserves “the barren lands in the Provinces of Bocas del Toro and Panamá”; and Law 20 of January 31, 1957, which declares the Comarca of San Blas and some lands in the province of Darién to be indigenous reserves. 28 See Article 94 of the 1946 Constitution; Article 116 of the 1972 Constitution; Article 123 of the 1972 Constitution as amended in 1978, 1983, and 1994; and Article 127 of the 1972 Constitution as amended in 2004. 29 According to information known to the public, Law 72 was not consulted on with the indigenous peoples of Panama. 30 For the purposes of this Law 72, the following terms shall be understand to have the following meanings: 1. Indigenous peoples (Pueblos indígenas). Human collectivities that descend from populations that inhabited the country or a geographic region to which the country belonged from the time of the conquest or colonization or establishment of the current boundaries of the state, and who, whatever their legal status, preserve their own social, economic, cultural, linguistic and political institutions. 2. Traditional occupation (Ocupación tradicional). Tenure, use, conservation, management, possession, and usufruct of the lands of the indigenous peoples defined in this article, transmitted from generation to generation. 31 Law 72, Article 4. 32 See Articles 3, 12, and 14 of Law 72.