Africa’s Triple Heritage, Land Commodification and Women’s Access to Land: Lessons from Cameroon, Kenya and Sierra Leone

2016 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. 760-779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ambe J Njoh ◽  
Erick O Ananga ◽  
Julius Y Anchang ◽  
Elizabeth MN Ayuk-Etang ◽  
Fenda A Akiwumi
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Land Tenure ◽  
Alternative Explanation ◽  
Indigenous Culture ◽  
Ability To Pay ◽  
And Control ◽  
Major Impediment ◽  
Land Tenure Systems

Women have less access to land than men in Africa. Previous analyses have typically identified African indigenous culture as the problem’s exclusive source. With Cameroon, Kenya and Sierra Leone as empirical referents, an alternative explanation is advanced. Here, the problem is characterized as a product of Africa’s triple heritage, comprising three main cultures, viz., African indigenous tradition, European/Christianity and Arabia/Islam. The following is noted as a major impediment to women’s access to, and control of, land: the supplanting of previously collective land tenure systems based on family or clan membership by ‘ability-to-pay’ as the principal determinant of access to land.

scholarly journals Forest Land Tenure Rights on Indigenous Peoples in Honitetu Village West Seram District, Maluku

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 91
Author(s):  
Marthina Tjoa ◽  
Didik Suharjito ◽  
Hariadi Kartodiharjo ◽  
Endriatmo Soetarto
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Land Tenure ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Forest Land ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
The Subject ◽  
And Control ◽  
Land Tenure Systems

Forest land tenure systems for indigenous peoples are always debated by various parties regarding the overlapping interests and rights of forest land. Objective of this study is to analyze the types of indigenous peoples' rights to strengthen forest land tenure systems in Honitetu Village, West Seram Regency. The research approach used is Participatory Action Research by building constructs of meaning between researchers and society repeatedly to obtain an understanding of the information discussed. Data were obtained through key informant interviews and focus group discussions conducted repeatedly. The analysis was carried out at each stage of the interview and discussion by making categorization of data to get an understanding of each data obtained. The results of study show that the system of forest land tenure in indigenous communities in Honite village includes control by the whole community (petuanan), control by clan groups (soa) and control by individuals (families). In these three systems, various types of rights are attached to managing and utilizing forest resources. The set of rights contained in indigenous peoples will be even stronger if it includes the linkage of longtime dimensions, the dimensions of space for the use of vertical or horizontal space, the dimensions of the subject with fixed ownership and the dimensions of the object include the results of forest land that provides full benefits.Key words: forest land tenure rights, indigenous people, forest management

Land-Tenure in Mycenaean Greece and the Hittite Empire: Linear B Land-surveys from Pylos and Middle Hittite Land-Donations

2005 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 473-486
Author(s):  
Alexander Uchitel
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Land Tenure ◽  
Etude Comparative ◽  
Étude Comparative ◽  
Systematic Comparison ◽  
New Interpretation ◽  
Land Tenure Systems ◽  
Linear B

AbstractThe article is a comparative study of Mycenaean Greek and Hittite land-tenure systems. It is based upon a systematic comparison of two groups of documents: land-registers (the so-called E-series) from Pylos and Middle Hittite land-donations. The traditional interpretation of both Mycenaean Greek and Hittite documents is challenged and alternative interpretations are offered. Thus, on the Mycenaean side, the construction with the preposition pa-ro is reinterpreted, and on the Hittite side an entirely new interpretation of a Hittite expression pir-sahhanas is offered. Both land-tenure systems are interpreted as two manifestations of compulsory labour service of small landholders attached to large agricultural estates. Cet article est une étude comparative des systèmes de tenue de la terre dans la Grèce mycénienne et l'empire hittite. Elle est fondée sur une comparaison systématique de deux groupes de documents : les registres de la terre (appelés la série E) de Pylos et les donations de terre moyenne hittite. L'interprétation traditionnelle des documents mycénien et hittite est ici remise en question et une nouvelle explication est offerte. Ainsi, du côté mycénien, la construction avec la préposition pa-ro est réinterprétée, et du côté hittite une interprétation entièrement nouvelle de l'expression pir-sahhanas est proposée. Les deux systèmes de tenue de la terre sont interprétés comme deux manifestations d'un service de travail obligatoire dus par des petits propriétaires attachés à des grandes propriétés agricoles.

scholarly journals Addressing the Problems of Land Registration Processes in Complex Land Tenure Systems Using Computational Techniques: Evidence from Accra Ghana

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-57
Author(s):  
Williams Miller Appau ◽  
Baslyd B. Nara ◽  
Javier G. Morales
Keyword(s):  
Land Tenure ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Systems Design ◽  
Computational Techniques ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Land Registration ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
The People ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Land Tenure Systems

Land registration processes have been described to be simplistic in simple land tenure environments where land rights are treasured and registered by the state on behalf of the people. Duplication of tasks, repeated preparation of land registration documents, and wrong definition of tasks affect the activities and processes of land registration characterising complex land tenure environments. Many qualitative land registration models such as the use of Unified Modified Language (UML) diagrams have been developed to show the frameworks of land registration processes in most parts of the world. However, most researches avoid the technical implementation of these models. This paper presents the quantitative approaches to addressing the problems of land registration processes in complex land tenure systems using computational techniques such as Process Maker and Java Script. The paper used case study approach to collect data and systems design method for the output. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from the Lands Commission of Accra and its stakeholders. Process maker software was operationalised using GeoJSON parcel file. Results show that, the simplification of land registration processes is based on the rationale behind the change (Data error, improved capacity, service quality), and the semantics (process re-engineering) involved in the computation of the modelling processes. The outcome has the ability to simplify an otherwise complex tenure system by avoiding delays and therefore improving the land registration processes.

Building Inclusive States

2021 ◽  
pp. 39-57
Author(s):  
Daron Acemoglu ◽  
James A. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
State Building ◽  
The State ◽  
Red Queen ◽  
State And Society ◽  
And Control ◽  
Red Queen Effect ◽  
The Red Queen ◽  
Queen Effect

Fragility arises when states are ineffective and when they are also illegitimate and unaccountable. These features are interconnected. People don’t want to cooperate with, or cede resources to, a state they cannot influence. We present a simple framework where the key to exiting fragility is a balance between the state and society. The state needs to develop more capacity, but to do this society needs to develop the ability to discipline and control it. We emphasize the existence of this type of “virtuous circle”—a phenomenon we call the “Red Queen effect.” We argue that the way of thinking about state-building is in terms of both widening the corridor in which the Red Queen effect operates and devising strategies to get into the corridor. We show how the framework helps account for the diminishing fragility of the state in post-apartheid South Africa, Somaliland, Sierra Leone, and Colombia.

scholarly journals When Tradition Meets Modernity in Land Registration: Evidence from Dagbon, Ghana

Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 416
Author(s):  
David Asante Edwin ◽  
Evam Kofi Glover ◽  
Edinam K. Glover
Keyword(s):  
Land Tenure ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Land Ownership ◽  
Registration System ◽  
Land Registration ◽  
Tenure System ◽  
Title Registration ◽  
Land Tenure System ◽  
Customary Land ◽  
And Control

Development practice over recent years in much of Africa prioritized formalization of land policies deemed to enhance better handling and use of land as an asset for social development. Following this trend, land reform policy in Ghana was based on a pluralistic legal system in which both the customary land tenure system and the statutory system of land ownership and control co-exist by law. The primary research question for this study was the following: What implications emerge when customary land tenure system and the statutory system of land ownership and control co-exist in law? The study discussed the prospects and challenges of land title registration and the meaning of the new organizing concept in land ownership and administration among the people of Dagbon in the northern region of Ghana. The principal aim of the study was to assess the challenges of the implementation of a modern land registration system over a deeply traditional one. A qualitative research methodology was used and included qualitative descriptive analysis. This descriptive-analytical study was carried out to investigate opinions on the implications of the merger and preferred options for redress of any systemic challenges. It employed Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) to supplement in-depth interviews. Interviews were conducted among 40 key participants within formal and informal institutions including officials from both the Land Commission and Town and Country Planning Departments. Purposeful sampling was employed, and an interview guide was developed and used for collecting the data. Data were analyzed using a thematic approach. The results showed that in this structural reform, the ‘allodial title’ holder was much more trusted for tenure security because of the traditional legitimacy of the King as the sole owner and controller of land. The title registration system therefore principally served the secondary purpose as additional security. The findings indicate that in the circumstance where the law was seen as pliable, the policy engendered blurred and confusing effects that deepened the sense of ambiguity and outcomes were sometimes contradictory. We argued that the crossroads presented challenges that were novel and engendered innovative thinking for more appropriate solutions. The study revealed that policy reforms must be tailor-made to the physical, social, cultural and economic settings.

Customary Land-Tenure and the Poor: A Study of Jharkhand and Meghalaya

Social Change ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 430-446
Author(s):  
Ankita Goyal
Keyword(s):  
Land Tenure ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Disadvantaged Communities ◽  
The Status ◽  
Land Tenure System ◽  
Customary Laws ◽  
Customary Land ◽  
And Control ◽  
Individual Ownership

For most people living in rural India having access and control over land is crucial for their livelihood, more so in the case of tribals. This article analyses the nature of the customary land-tenure system in some districts of Jharkhand and Meghalaya and their impact on livelihood patterns, food security and poverty. Based on both secondary and primary data, the article seeks to examine the nature of the customary land-tenure systems in selected scheduled areas; specifically identifying the status of locals versus non-locals in managing land resources and analysing the extent to which women have been able to secure land rights under customary laws. The article concludes that though there are both positive and negative aspects to community and individual ownership of agricultural land, but on the whole the prevailing system does not helping in bettering the conditions of disadvantaged communities.

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