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

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6.1.3 Disputes over Encroachment
Disputes between Landowners and Borrowers
Under customary rules in all studied clans, the planting of “life trees” – such as rubber or cocoa – asserts a
permanent claim to the land. Thus, borrowers are generally restricted to planting seasonal crops and are not
allowed to plant life trees on borrowed land. Yet, we found disputes between landowners and borrowers over
the planting of life trees to be relatively common in Dobli, Gbanshay, and Tengia. Each of these clans had a
proliferation of life trees and a relatively high population density (65.14/sq. mile, 75.45/sq. mile, and
183.28/sq. mile, respectively) high pressures on land. As an example, in Dobli Clan, most of the disputes over
uplands occur when people plant life trees on borrowed land, on land that belongs to someone else, or on
land that belongs to the whole family without seeking permission.
In Gbanshay Clan, we heard of several disputes involving borrowers of land who did not heed the customary
rule and planted life trees on the borrowed property. In one such dispute, a woman who manages her elderly
father‟s land lent property to a farmer from the same town for upland rice. The borrower began planting
rubber trees and then claimed the land. The woman felt powerless to stop the borrower, especially because
her father was ill and could not enforce their claim to the land. Disputes over borrowers asserting claims to
land by planting rubber are so prevalent that landowners are becoming cautious to lend land. Many of these
disputes are unresolved.
In Tengia Clan, we heard of disputes that occurred when borrowers planted cocoa or palm trees on land that
was borrowed for seasonal cropping. In such cases, the landowner will bring the dispute to the Town Chief
who will reportedly grant ownership rights over the young trees to the landowner. If the case goes to the Clan
Chief, however, we were told that he would let the borrower keep the land planted in cocoa, but make them
“pay something” to the landowner. The issue of borrowers planting life trees was met with similarly divergent
responses in Gbanshay Clan. Here, the Clan Chief told us that because custom upholds that no one is able to
uproot trees that another has planted, he will award the borrowers the land where they had already planted
rubber trees, and presumably other life trees. In contrast, Town Elders in the clan said that the landowner will
keep the land and the improperly planted trees. Another respondent stated that it is up to the Land
Commissioner to decide if the person who planted rubber can keep the land or not. Still others said that the
land renter/borrower should pay the owner a portion of the money he makes from the crop.
In Ding, Little Kola, and Nitrian, disputes between landowners and borrowers were reported to be
uncommon. In each of these clans, clan members reported rare instances of disputes that were resolved
locally. For example, in Nitrian, a dispute started when a man from one quarter borrowed land from an
individual in another quarter to grow rice, but later planted life trees on it. The dispute was taken to the elders
and the Town Chief of Kabada Town who resolved it by granting ownership of the planted life trees to the
landowner. In Little Kola Clan, clan members told us of one minor dispute between the descendants of a
borrower claiming the borrowed land, leading to “confusion” with the descendants of the landowner. Despite
their rarity, citizens of these clans believe that these disputes will increase in the future.
In Mana, Motor Road, and Upper Workor, there are reportedly no disputes between landowners and
borrowers, potentially because the practice of borrowing is uncommon. In Saykleken and Ylan, disputes
between borrowers and landowners were not listed as a type of dispute prevalent in those clans.
Disputes between “Landowners”
Another form of dispute consists of encroachment disputes between landowners. These are common in
Dobli, Gbanshay, Saykleken, Upper Workor, and Ylan Clans. The nature of disputes between landowners
varies from clan to clan. In Dobli and Gbanshay, disputes between landowners are complicated by TCs,
which many clan members have perceived to assert secure, permanent rights to their land. However, the
legitimacy of TCs is being questioned as people learn that they do not afford permanent rights under
statutory law. As a result, some farmers are encroaching on land held under TC, often to plant rubber. In one
case in Dobli Clan, a farmer planned to plant 125 acres of rubber. A neighboring farmer, however, planted
CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE IN LIBERIA