scholarly journals LAND TENURE INSECURITY AND LAND CONFLICTS IN THE BAMENDAGRASSFIELDS OF CAMEROON: PUZZLING EVIDENCE FROM BALINYONGA/BAWOCK LAND CONFLICT

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (01) ◽  
pp. 867-876
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Yenkong Sobseh ◽  
◽  
Willibroaddze- Ngwa ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Land Tenure ◽  
Common Property ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Land Conflicts ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Customary Land ◽  
Ownership Of Land ◽  
Land Policies

This paper examines the challenges of land tenure insecurity and land conflicts in the Bamenda Grassfields of Cameroon. Colonial and later, postcolonial governments of Cameroon introduced different and most often, conflicting land policies. These divergent land policies, later on, replaced collective ownership of land with private ownership. This paper, focuses on the different causes of land tenure insecurity such as inequality, outside encroachment, and common property challenges. It also tackles the measure causes of land conflicts such as multiple land sales, land scarcity, population growth, poor boundary demarcation, land laws and contested records of land conflicts. Despite these challenges, land tenure security was achieved through customary land, state land and individual titling. However, the case study between Bali Nyonga and Bawock demonstrates efforts by different parties to confront, manage and resolve land dispute. Based on a wide range of primary and secondary sources, this paper argues that, land tenure insecurity and land disputes have benefitted the rich, and fostered social inequalities. The study concludes that, despite the lessons and opportunities for intervention advanced, land tenure insecurity and land conflicts in Cameroon could only be overcome, if the present structures and institutions of land management are modernized and restructured by stakeholders to benefit the majority.

Negotiated or Negated? The Rhetoric and Reality of Customary Tenure in an Ashanti Village in Ghana

Africa ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
pp. 264-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janine M. Ubink
Keyword(s):  
Land Tenure ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Playing Field ◽  
Political Relationships ◽  
The Social ◽  
Central Elements ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Customary Rights ◽  
Customary Land ◽  
Property Regimes

Customary land tenure is seen as a field in which social and political relationships are diverse, overlapping and competing. Property regimes are, therefore, often analysed in terms of processes of negotiation, with people's social and political identities as central elements. This article studies the negotiability of customary tenure in peri-urban Ghana where land is at the centre of intense and unequal competition and closely tied up with struggles over authority. It focuses on one village to provide a grassroots view of processes of contestation of customary rights to land. The analysis of how and to what extent local actors in this village deal with, negotiate and struggle for rights to land confirms that contestants for land never operate on a level playing field. Postulating the social inequalities of local communities, the article analyses whether it is useful to place all local land dealings under the term ‘negotiations’, or whether such a characterization stretches the boundaries of the term too far and risks undermining the significance of local stratification and ignoring the winners and losers in a contest with uncertain rules.

Land-Related Conflict and Electoral Politics in Africa

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Boone
Keyword(s):  
Land Tenure ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Electoral Politics ◽  
African Countries ◽  
National Elections ◽  
Land Conflicts ◽  
Land Disputes ◽  
Customary Land ◽  
Land Tenure Institutions

Land-related disputes and land conflicts are sometimes politicized in elections in African countries, but this is usually not the case. Usually, land-related conflict is highly localized, managed at the micro-political level by neo-customary authorities, and not connected to electoral competition. Why do land conflicts sometimes become entangled in electoral politics, and sometimes “scale up” to become divisive issues in regional and national elections? A key determinant of why and how land disputes become politicized is the nature of the underlying land tenure regime, which varies across space (often by subnational district) within African countries. Under the neo-customary land tenure regimes that prevail in most regions of smallholder agriculture in most African countries, land disputes tend to be “bottled up” in neo-customary land-management processes at the local level. Under the statist land tenure regimes that exist in some districts of many African countries, government agents and officials are directly involved in land allocation and directly implicated in dispute resolution. Under “statist” land tenure institutions, the politicization of land conflict, especially around elections, becomes more likely. Land tenure institutions in African countries define landholders’ relations to each other, the state, and markets. Understanding these institutions, including how they come under pressure and change, goes far in explaining how and where land rights become politicized.

scholarly journals Transforming Land Administration Practices through the Application of Fit-For-Purpose Technologies: Country Case Studies in Africa

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 538
Author(s):  
Danilo Antonio ◽  
Solomon Njogu ◽  
Hellen Nyamweru ◽  
John Gitau
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Land Tenure ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Domain Model ◽  
Institutional Practices ◽  
Land Conflicts ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Land Administration ◽  
Fit For Purpose ◽  
Inclusive Processes

Access to land for many people in Africa is insecure and continues to pose risks to poverty, hunger, forced evictions, and social conflicts. The delivery of land tenure in many cases has not been adequately addressed. Fit-for-purpose spatial frameworks need to be adapted to the context of a country based on simple, affordable, and incremental solutions toward addressing these challenges. This paper looked at three case studies on the use of the Social Tenure Domain Model (STDM) tool in promoting the development of a fit-for-purpose land administration spatial framework. Data gathering from primary and secondary sources was used to investigate the case studies. The empirical findings indicated that the use and application of the STDM in support of the fit-for-purpose land administration framework is quite effective and can facilitate the improvement in land tenure security. The findings also revealed that the tool, together with participatory and inclusive processes, has the potential to contribute to other frameworks of Fit-For-Purpose Land Administration (FFP LA) toward influencing changes in policy and institutional practices. Evidently, there was a remarkable improvement in the institutional arrangements and collaboration among different institutions, as well as a notable reduction in land conflicts or disputes in all three case studies.

scholarly journals PEMBERDAYAAN WANITA DAN TANAH ADAT MINANG

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
Azima Azima
Keyword(s):  
Land Ownership ◽  
Indigenous Women ◽  
Economic Empowerment ◽  
Women Empowerment ◽  
Land Conflicts ◽  
Land Owners ◽  
Indigenous Lands ◽  
Customary Land ◽  
Ownership Of Land ◽  
Depth Interviews

<p><em>In the Minang community, women are considered as holders of trust and all decisions related to the use of their typical land are still dependent on the decisions of the adat leaders. In another sense, a woman is justified in possessing but the property given to her is pregnant soon (Norhalim Ibrahim 2005). Indigenous women will be grouped with land ownership but in terms of power and rights to land still controlled by traditional leaders. The lack of power in the context of managing and using customary land has led to various issues that have touched indigenous lands. The issue is the issue of customary land that is not cultivated and has become widespread. Therefore, this study aims to examine how indigenous women become hindered as a result of the boundaries held by them. Therefore, in-depth interviews with customary land owners in the study area were conducted. The study found that there were a number of obstacles that hindered efforts to capture indigenous women. Because of the allocation of Enakmen Chapter 215 customary land, conflicts between trustees and tribes, it is difficult to obtain credit facilities and the location of customary land. This situation eventually pushed to the limits of efforts to wake up the economy of women. The lack of power resulting from limited property rights makes the economic empowerment of indigenous women not easy to handle. Thus some changes in the context of traditional leadership must need to think about the relevance of ownership that is more utilizing the owner, but in the same period it does not conflict with the existence of the Minang ethnic and ethnic groups.</em></p><p><em>Dalam masyarakat Minang wanita dianggap sebagai pemegang amanah dan segala keputusan berkait dengan urusan pemakaian tanah khasnya masih lagi tergantung kepada keputusan pemimpin adat. Dalam erti lain, seseorang wanita itu dibenarkan memiliki tetapi hakmilik yang diberikan kepadanya adalah hamilik terhad </em><em>(Norhalim Ibrahim 2005).  </em><em> Wanita adat akan  diompokkan dengan pemilikan tanah tetapi dari segi kuasa dan hak terhadap tanah masih dikuasai oleh pemimpin adat.  Ketiadaan kuasa dalam konteks mengurus dan memakai tanah adat menyebabkan timbul pelbagai isu yang menyentuh tanah adat. Antaranya adalah isu tanah adat yang tidak diusahakan dan menjadi terbiar. Oleh yang demikian kajian ini bertujuan untuk meneliti bagaimana pemerkasaan wanita adat menjadi terhalang akibat daripada sekatan pegangan yang dimiliki oleh mereka.  Oleh itu indepth interview dengan pemilik tanah adat  di kawasan kajian dilakukan. Dapatan kajian mendapati terdapat beberapa halangan yang menghalang usaha untuk memperkasakan wanita adat.  Antaranya peruntukan tanah adat Enakmen Bab 215, konflik antara pemegang amanah dan keberadaan suku, kesukaran mendapatkan kemudahan kredit dan lokasi tanah adat.  Keadaan ini akhirnya mendorong kepada batasan terhadap usaha membangunkan ekonomi wanita.  Ketiadaan kuasa akibat daripada hak milik yang terhad menjadikan  usaha pemberdayaan ekonomi wanita adat menjadi tidak mudah untuk ditangani.  Oleh demikian beberapa perubahan dalam konteks kepimpinan adat harus perlu memikirkan kerelevanan pemilikan yang lebih memanfaatkan pemilik namun dalam masa yang sama tidak mempertikaian keberadaan suku dan etnik minang.</em></p><p><em> </em><strong><em>Keywords</em></strong><em>: Indigenous women, empowerment, ownership of land, land ownership and pregnancy</em></p><div><em><br /></em></div>

Lesotho's land tenure regimes: experiences of rural communities and the calls for land reform

2004 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neville W. Pule ◽  
Motlatsi Thabane
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Land Tenure ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Documentary Evidence ◽  
Long Term Consequences ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Customary Land ◽  
Ownership Of Land

Calls to reform Lesotho's traditional or customary land tenure abound. The main argument of those who call for reform is that there is no security of tenure, and therefore economic development and foreign and local investment in agriculture are lacking. Lately, traditional land tenure has been blamed for environmental degradation of agricultural land. Using oral and documentary evidence collected in the Rothe Ward, Mafeteng District, and the Mafeteng District Secretary's Office, this paper argues that the traditional land tenure is ambiguous on ownership of land, and is in need of reform designed to prevent various forms of chiefly abuse. However, no evidence of insecurity of tenure per se was found. Instead, poverty and lack of capital with which to acquire agricultural inputs in order to improve production were most prevalent in the responses of rural communities. Finally, the paper ends on a note of caution that reforms as envisaged may have calamitous long-term consequences both for rural communities and the country.

scholarly journals Territorialities, spatial inequalities and the formalization of land rights in Central Benin

Africa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 329-352
Author(s):  
Philippe Lavigne Delville ◽  
Anne-Claire Moalic
Keyword(s):  
Land Tenure ◽  
Land Rights ◽  
Political Organization ◽  
Rural Land ◽  
Spatial Inequalities ◽  
History Of ◽  
Administrative Change ◽  
Customary Land ◽  
The Village ◽  
Land Policies

AbstractThe formalization of ‘informal’ customary land rights is at the core of current rural land policies in Africa. The dubious impacts of such policies on agricultural production, and the recomposition of land rights and governance they cause, have been studied widely. But their territorial dimensions are hardly acknowledged. Studying the implementation of a rural land rights formalization project in central Benin, this article highlights the links between territorialization and plot-level land rights formalization. It first unpacks the notion of the village and presents a conceptual framework for analysing the superimposition of and contradiction between customary and administrative territories. Using two case studies, it then examines the conflicts that arise during formalization operations and their outcomes in terms of the mapping of land rights and political and administrative change. This article shows how the political organization of the territory and the socio-spatial inequalities resulting from the history of settlement shape the results of plot-level land rights registration (which explains why large parts of village territories have not been registered), and, in turn, how these registration operations lead to new territorialization processes and increase the heterogeneity of land tenure rights within the territory.

scholarly journals Land Conflicts and Land Tenure Effects on Agriculture Productivity in Chad

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Djimoudjiel Djekonbe ◽  
Tchoffo Tameko Gautier
Keyword(s):  
Land Tenure ◽  
Agricultural Activity ◽  
Agricultural Reform ◽  
Land Conflicts ◽  
Agriculture Sector ◽  
The Government ◽  
Customary Land ◽  
Agricultural Yields ◽  
Government Reforms ◽  
Transhumance Corridors

The objective of this article is to measure the extent of land conflicts on agricultural productivity and yields in the most conflict-prone regions of Chad. We obtained the results that, the interaction of land conflicts in agricultural activity is a barrier to productivity and the improvement of agricultural yields. The effects of climate change on yields and productivity are dwindled by government reforms and subventions in the agriculture' sector. Hence, we recommend the government to promote customary land tenure to reduce conflict and in another hand to trace transhumance corridors to support the State's agricultural reform efforts.

scholarly journals Tribal Land Conflicts and State Forestry in Odisha: A Historical Study

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-147
Author(s):  
Naresh Rout
Keyword(s):  
Land Tenure ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Forest Resources ◽  
Historical Study ◽  
Land Conflicts ◽  
Tribal People ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
The People ◽  
Tribal Land ◽  
Customary Land

The history of human existence and civilizations are intertwined with forests and trees. Forests are crucial for the goods and services they provide, which people all over the world depend on. Strategies to enhance the contributions of the world’s forests to social development, livelihoods and poverty eradication are vital at a time when unsustainable practices and economic crises continue to threaten healthy forests and the people who depend upon them. The survival of tribal communities critically depends on land and forest resources. For historical and ecological reasons, most tribal people inhabit the forest and highly inaccessible regions of the state. These communities practise various customary land tenure systems, which have often been modified by state policies and legislation. The clan-based land tenure system was based on customary rights over land, trees and forest. The land use and tenure systems vary from tribe to tribe, as reflected in the practice and terraced cultivation. The relationship between tribal people and forest resources has been symbiotic in nature. The life-way processes of Odisha’s tribal people are reflected in their economy, religion, polity and social institutions, which cannot be understood without understanding various aspects of the forest surrounding them.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ijssm.v2i2.12423           Int. J. Soc. Sci. Manage. Vol-2, issue-2: 143-147  

Syed Nawab Haider Naqvi, Mahmood Hasan Khan and M. Ghaffu Otaudhry (edt.). LaJld Reforms in Pakistan, A Historical Perspective. Islamabad: Pakistan Institute of Development Economics 1987. viii+216 pp.Price: Rs 220 (USS 35) for hardcover; Rs 140.00 (USS 20) for soft-cover.

1988 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-218
Author(s):  
Luther Tweeten
Keyword(s):  
Land Tenure ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
State Ownership ◽  
Land Reforms ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Rural Pakistan ◽  
The Status ◽  
Land Tenure System ◽  
Ownership Of Land ◽  
High Degree

The authors describe how Pakistan has grappled with land reform, surely one of the most intractable and divisive issues facing agriculture anywhere. The land-tenure system at independence in 1947 included a high degree of land ownership concentration, absentee landlordism, insecurity of tenant tenure, and excessive rent. Land reform since 1947 focused on imposition of ceilings on landholding, distribution of land to landless tenants and small owners, and readjustments of contracts to improve the position of the tenant. These reformist measures have removed some but by no means all of the undesirable characteristics of the system. The authors list as well as present a critique of the reports of five official committees and commissions on land reform. The reports highlight the conflicts and ideologies of the reformers. The predominant ideal of the land reformers is a system of peasant proprietorship although some reformers favoured other systems such as communal farming and state ownership of land, and still others favoured cash rents over share rents. More pragmatic reformers recognized that tenancy is likely to be with Pakistan for the foreseeable future and that the batai (sharecropping) arrangement is the most workable system. According to the editors, the batai system can work to the advantage of landlord and tenant if the ceilings on landholding can be sufficiently lowered (and enforced), the security of the tenant is ensured, and the tenant has recourse to the courts for adjudication of disputes with landlords. Many policy-makers in Pakistan have come to accept that position but intervention by the State to realize the ideal has been slow. The editors conclude that" ... the end result of these land reforms is that they have not succeeded in significantly changing the status quo in rural Pakistan" (p. 29).

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document