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

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77 knowledge of community members. We encountered many unresolved conflicts in clans where malfeasance was prominent. Unfortunately, there are no institutions in place to promote accountability or transparency within the clans. 5.4.6 Trends in Governance Authority over Land In the past few decades, there have been changes in both customary and statutory institutions. Community members reported that in the past, decisions from traditional authorities could not be challenged. Today, however, their legitimacy is challenged by many, and compliance is low, especially among the youth. Leaders find it difficult to enforce rules and regulations governing land. For example, in some communities, we learned that elders‟ ability to enforce rules is decreasing and that their legitimacy as leaders is being questioned. This problem is compounded by the decreasing ability of elders to enforce rules and regulations. Some youth are of the view that elders are biased in their decisions, especially on matters related to land. Power dynamics also appear to be shifting in the studied clans, with youth increasingly contesting the authority of their parents and customary leaders. Overall, our research reveals that while in some areas customary authorities still command considerable respect over land and natural resource matters and that compliance with the rules established and enforced by these authorities is fairly robust, in others compliance is very low. The sharpest perceptions of a decrease in compliance were found in Gbanshay, Saykleken, and Ylan. Diminishing respect for the authority of customary leaders – especially by the youth – seems to be resulting in decreased compliance with customary rules for land and natural resources. Reportedly, the war – coupled with persistent poverty – has seeded a culture of disobedience, though in other cases formal education and promotion of “human rights” 57 was blamed. In clans such as Gbanshay, Mana, Ylan, Saykleken, and Nitrian Community, the youth are increasingly exerting pressure on traditional rules for accessing and managing land. The extent of weakened customary governance institutions varies spatially with authorities in more remote communities having more authority and legitimacy. In some clans, such as Motor Road, Ding, Little Kola, and Saykleken, customary authorities are relatively well respected. In other areas, such as Ylan, Dobli, and Mana, where competition for land is high, customary governance institutions are weakening and community members are seeking alternative institutions to support their claims to land. During a historical matrix exercise, members of Mana Clan used beans to show the decrease in compliance over time starting with the President Tubman era and into the future. In all of the clans studied, there seemed to be a general decline in compliance over time with clan members expecting compliance to become worse in the future. In Ylan Clan, community members believe that compliance will improve in the future as institutions of governance become more effective with government intervention. Figure 5.1: Compliance with rules over time in Mana Clan Variable Tubman Tolbert Doe Taylor Johnson- Sirleaf Compliance with Rules •••••• •••••• •••••• •••••• •••••• •••••• •••••• •••••• •••••• •••••• •••••• •••••• •••••• • ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• • Future (+10 Years) •••••• •• • The war may be one of the factors galvanizing youth empowerment while also weakening traditional social and normative structures. Some of the people we interviewed suggested that the war transformed the landscape of authority. Many individuals were forced to flee and to forge new networks upon which they 57 This presumably refers to the outlawing of „trial by ordeal‟ practices and other forms of local corporal punishment. CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE IN LIBERIA
78 could rely. This in turn produced new and informal systems of authority and created new channels of power distribution and expression. The youth also assumed positions of power, especially among warring factions. Armed and in control, they no longer were subject to the directives of their elders. Today, many youth are not content to go back to the old ways of subservience to their elders and seek to have greater power in their communities. Youth are also gaining control over land at a younger age, are generally the most eager to invest in cash crops or alternative livelihoods, and, in many clans, are regarded as among the better off. As youth acquire more land and power, this could usher in further challenges to customary rules and governance structures. 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
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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 and 102: 74 such as Clan and Paramount Chief
Page 103: 76 some women who held positions as
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
Page 153 and 154: 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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