Customary Land Tenure in Liberia - Land Tenure and Property ...

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75 this lack of clarity, community members are sometimes uncertain as to whom they should turn to for help with particular issues. 5.4.2 Legitimacy of Customary and Statutory Institutions Difficulty accessing outside authorities leads some clan members to prefer that local leaders – mainly Town Chiefs, Quarter Chiefs, and Town Elders – handle their land and natural resource matters. They argue that leaders within the community tend not only to be more accessible and knowledgeable about local matters, but that they tend to work together better. Other times, though, people favor referring matters to District Commissioners, Land Commissioners, the District Superintendent, or the courts, especially when there is a perception that local authorities may be biased or may lack enforcement power. Clan members reported that, prior to the war, customary institutions were effective in ensuring equitable allocation of land resources and resolving disputes. Today, clan members reported that elders and Town Chiefs lack the power of government backing, and therefore are increasingly looking to statutory authorities that have enforcement power to protect their rights and advocate for them. Unfortunately, statutory authorities and courts are seen by some as favoring the wealthy and powerful, who they see as able to use the formal system to their advantage. Under GOL law, Town Chiefs, Clan Chiefs, and Paramount Chiefs should be elected by community members. Whereas having elections implies that the legitimacy of the governance authorities is based on how they perform, selection or inheritance of a position implies that legitimacy is enshrined by favoritism or custom. There have been no elections since 1987. Some Clan Chiefs and Paramount Chiefs have been in power for over 30 years; others were either selected or inherited their positions. For example, the Clan Chief of Dobli and Paramount Chief of Upper Workor were selected by previous chiefs, while the Clan Chief of Upper Workor inherited the position from his uncle. In addition to the weakening of governance institutions, NGOs and the GOL have campaigned against the use of coercive mechanisms such as “trial by ordeal.” The practices were greatly utilized before the war, but today they have been criminalized through the law because of human rights implications. Many customary leaders complained that these limitations adversely affected their ability to enforce rules and regulations in the community. Many customary authorities and community members we talked to complained that children‟s rights only encourage children to disobey their parents and give them an excuse not to work, which, according to many community members, has significant economic and social implications. 5.4.3 Women as Governance Authorities Our findings indicate that women are increasingly occupying positions of authority in the studied clans. While men constitute the clear majority in positions of authority, we met women serving as elders, chairladies, Town Chiefs, Clan Chiefs, and Township Commissioners. Some community members attribute women‟s growing occupation of these positions to the introduction of principles of gender equity from external sources (e.g., NGOs and the government). Additionally, the elders in Dobli, Gbanshay, and Ylan Clans reported that women‟s opinions are valued because they can provide different perspectives on an issue. While women‟s occupation of leadership positions signals important strides in gender equity, our research suggests that women in these positions tend to command more limited authority over land and natural resources as compared to men. We encountered women in statutory authority positions within Ding, Little Kola, Motor Road, and Saykleken Clans and Nitrian Community. In Nitrian and Little Kola, a woman is Clan Chief, while in Saykleken, the District Commissioner is a woman. Female Town Chiefs were found in Ding and Motor Road. However, these female authorities seemed to face significant challenges in carrying out their duties. One woman leader reported that men find it difficult to accept her authority because she is a woman. Due to persisting androcentric norms, women in some clans are discouraged from openly challenging men which greatly limits their ability to make decisions, especially unpopular ones. In Tengia, Upper Workor, and Gbanshay Clans, we did not find any women holding statutory positions, though we did not validate whether there may have been some women Town Chiefs who did not participate in the research exercises. We did however encounter CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE IN LIBERIA
76 some women who held positions as elders in Gbanshay and Motor Road although their authority tended to differ from male elders – namely in that they had less authority over land matters and only handled women‟s issues. In terms of land and natural resources, women‟s decision-making authority appears to be particularly limited. Land is often still viewed as the domain of men and male decision-making. We found that in some communities, there are positions which have a strong influence over land that cannot be occupied by women. For example, in Motor Road and Saykleken, community members reported that women cannot be Town or Tribal Chairmen, as these positions are elected through traditional means involving men‟s secret society, which women are not allowed to attend or witness. Also in Mana and Ylan, women did not have strong input in decisions regarding land use and access. Despite the barriers, we found evidence that women are commanding power in different ways. In Motor Road and Saykleken Clans, we found that women are increasingly occupying positions of authority; for example, the Town Chief of Jalay Town is a woman and the District Commissioners of Wedjah and Sarbo Districts are also women. In all clans we found that women play important roles such as commanding and marketing of the crops, management of the money earned, and the management of rice kitchens. 5.4.4 Youth as Governance Authorities In many clans, youth play a role in land and resource governance. In clans such as Saykleken, Ding, Motor Road, Gbanshay, and Little Kola, the youth are well-respected and take part in decision-making, the formulation of rules, and sometimes, in resolving disputes. In Little Kola Clan, when the youth are not consulted in the formulation of a new rule, they are able to voice their disapproval and reject the rule. Especially when organized, youth can have a strong influence on land and resources. For example, youth in Motor Road organized a group of clan members to protest the expansion of the Sinoe Park into the Upper Wedjah Community Forest. In Saykleken Clan, the youth resisted the issuance of papers for the application of a Tribal Certificate to a farmer from another part of the country. And, in Gbanshay and Nitrian, youths occupy positions of Quarter Chiefs and play an important role in dispute resolution. Youths – especially male youths – are increasingly challenging statutory and customary governance institutions. In some clans, the youth are frequently in confrontation with the local authorities and feel that their positions are overlooked in decision-making about land issues. In Dobli, Tengia, Mana, Ylan, and Upper Workor Clans, youth wished to have more say in land governance. Several times in the field study, the youth in these clans expressed frustration with decisions that the elders had made and derided them for having an old-fashioned way of thinking. Older clan members sometimes complained about the youth, namely for failing to comply with customary rules or for evading participation in town maintenance activities, some of which they blame on the effects of the war, as well as on the formal education received by the youth. 5.4.5 Malfeasance and Power Abuse Our research revealed several cases of malfeasance by authorities. Customary land governance is usually entrusted in groups with leaders making decisions on behalf of community members. The leaders are expected to work together in making decisions governing land and to be accountable to community members. When governance authorities no longer work together and when accountability mechanisms are no longer in place, it is easy for the authorities to abuse the power that is vested in them (Toulmin, 2009). Acts of malfeasance were reportedly prevalent in Ylan, Dobli, and Ding Clans. In these clans, local people expressed deep distrust of certain statutory leaders. Clan members complained that some of the authorities are not advocating for their constituent‟s interests, but for their own and those of their associates. Some of the statutory leaders in these clans have reportedly sold or bought large expanses of clan land without consulting clan members. Some clan members accused statutory authorities of having adopted imperialistic-like positions with regard to land in that they have allocated large parcels of land to themselves, their associates, and/or clan outsiders, and have unilaterally made decisions about land without CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE IN LIBERIA
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LAND POLICY AND INSTITUTIONAL SUPPO
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LIBERIA LAND POLICY & INSTITUTIONAL
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ii 1.0 Introduction ...............
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iv 4.2.1 Statutory Tenure Claims by
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vi 7.3.2 Courts ...................
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viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: Ma
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x ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS CDC CF
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xii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report s
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xiv game for both sale and consumpt
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xvi manage tree crops where these a
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xviii In the clans we visited, stat
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xx DISPUTE RESOLUTION MECHANISMS Di
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xxii Recommended measures include t
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xxiv Remove land and governance au
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2 This chapter begins with a presen
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4 1.2 LAND TENURE AND RURAL LIVELIH
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6 (Renner, 1931). Initially lacking
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8 1.3 HISTORY OF LAND TENURE IN LIB
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10 Certificate is merely a permit t
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12 however, rights granted to commu
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14 2.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This ch
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16 Figure 2.2: FEWS-NET map of Libe
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18 In each case, after completion o
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20 3.0 LAND USE AND LIVELIHOODS Thi
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22 Upland Rice Cultivated in each o
Page 51 and 52: 24 money quickly. However, they als
Page 53 and 54: 26 3.2.2 Trees In addition to food
Page 55 and 56: 28 large rubber farms ranging from
Page 57 and 58: 30 tasks assigned to women and vice
Page 59 and 60: 32 3.2.7 Hunting and Fishing In mos
Page 61 and 62: 34 bush and fell trees on a farmer
Page 63 and 64: 36 men‟s focus on life tree culti
Page 65 and 66: 38 from one or more patrilineages,
Page 67 and 68: 40 Figure 4.1: Access to land for f
Page 69 and 70: 42 Figure 4.2: Children’s acquisi
Page 71 and 72: 44 Figure 4.3: Profile of borrowing
Page 73 and 74: 46 he/she is fully integrated as a
Page 75 and 76: 48 widows will sometimes marry a ma
Page 77 and 78: 50 Several communities have rules g
Page 79 and 80: 52 Bush and Forest Resources In all
Page 81 and 82: 54 Water and Fishing Access to wate
Page 83 and 84: 56 Other factors cited for contribu
Page 85 and 86: 58 Figure 4.6: Presence of differen
Page 87 and 88: 60 bush resources largely follows c
Page 89 and 90: 62 In Ylan, some land is held under
Page 91 and 92: 64 the majority of studied clans, t
Page 93 and 94: 66 We also found that, in the clans
Page 95 and 96: 68 In some clans such as Upper Work
Page 97 and 98: 70 Town Chiefs Town Chiefs represen
Page 99 and 100: 72 dispute resolution. 55 While in
Page 101: 74 such as Clan and Paramount Chief
Page 105 and 106: 78 could rely. This in turn produce
Page 107 and 108: 80 community sometimes encounter re
Page 109 and 110: 82 rubber on adjacent land, as well
Page 111 and 112: 84 In other clans, including Ding a
Page 113 and 114: 86 Disputes over Mining Mana Clan c
Page 115 and 116: 88 7.0 DISPUTE RESOLUTION Dispute r
Page 117 and 118: 90 7.2.2 Chairladies In Dobli, Gban
Page 119 and 120: 92 7.3.4 Disputes between Clans/Dis
Page 121 and 122: 94 In some clans, the abundance of
Page 123 and 124: 96 8.2.2 Scale of Ownership Claims
Page 125 and 126: 98 If communities anticipate that t
Page 127 and 128: 100 The importance of documenting c
Page 129 and 130: 102 The current land tenure sys
Page 131 and 132: 104 10.0 POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS In
Page 133 and 134: 106 communities. Instead, we sugges
Page 135 and 136: 108 apply for fee simple tenure. Th
Page 137 and 138: 110 tenure unit. Instead, this role
Page 139 and 140: 112 Tribal Certificates and Deeds R
Page 141 and 142: 114 REFERENCES SECONDARY SOURCES Ak
Page 143 and 144: 116 Wallace, Carolyn Gamiao and Rol
Page 145 and 146: 118 DATE TIME ACTIVITY March 23, 20
Page 147 and 148: 120 ANNEX 3: NORTHEAST TRANSECT, DO
Page 149 and 150: 122 ANNEX 5: TOWN MAP, SAYKLEKAN CL
Page 151 and 152: 124 ANNEX 7: HISTORICAL MATRIX, YLA
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126 ANNEX 9: DOBLI DISPUTE LETTER C
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128 ANNEX 11: TRIBAL CERTIFICATE FO
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130 ANNEX 13: SEASONAL CALENDARS, M
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132 ANNEX 14: COMMUNITY FOREST BY-L
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134 CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE IN LIBERI
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136 b. A family or individual shall
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138 a. Standing Rules Tree
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140 The amount of rattan collecte
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142 o o o o o o o Antelope Hippo
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144 Any community member or gro
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146 U.S. Agency for International D
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