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

More documents

Recommendations

Info

83 Box 6.1: Seeking Resolution: A Case of Encroachment in Gbanshay The only surviving child of a local landowner from the town of Foloblai in Gbanshay, “Gormah,” inherited her father’s land when he passed away, including the TC in his name. Though her name is not on the certificate and her father had not acquired a deed to the land, Gormah firmly believes that the land is hers. The inherited land abuts a footpath, which serves as the traditional boundary between Foloblai and the neighboring town of Gbanyea. After Gormah inherited the land, a man from Gbanyea crossed the footpath and began planting rubber trees on Gormah’s land. Gormah first asked the customary authorities in Foloblai to intervene, and they asked the man to stop. But they had no power to enforce their requests and the man continued to plant rubber. Further, the man claimed that, because Gormah did not have a deed, her TC was invalid and the land was “free” (available). After the customary authorities failed to resolve the dispute, the man asked the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) to mediate the case. The NRC suggested that the woman and the man divide the contested land between them, but Gormah refused to settle. According to her, the TC in her possession proved her right to the land. She wanted to take the dispute to court. At the time that this report was being written, Gormah was suing the man through the Circuit Court in Gbarnga and asserted that she would win because, she said, “I have the paper.” Disputes between Towns Disputes between towns were relatively common in Dobli, Little Kola, Tengia, Upper Workor, and Ylan, and are often related to encroachment. In Little Kola, disputes occur when people make farms or use materials from bush across town boundaries without asking permission. In Tengia Clan, disputes occur when citizens of one town encroach on another town‟s land, sometimes planting cocoa. The same is true in Upper Workor Clan, where people cross town boundaries and plant life trees, primarily palm, or hunt in another town‟s bush without permission. In this clan, an ongoing dispute between two towns is related to a contested boundary, which had traditionally been marked by a soap tree. Several years ago, the soap tree was cut down and farmers from both sides began claiming the area. In Ylan Clan, there is an ongoing dispute between Mehnpa and Saclepea towns, in which people from Saclepea are reportedly encroaching on Mehnpa land and felling rubber trees that have been planted there. In a few cases, disputes between towns arise over access to valuable resources. For example, in Gbanshay Clan, two towns had traditionally claimed a portion of a mountain that served as the boundary between them. In recent years, however, the GOL, in conjunction with a mining company, is said to have begun prospecting the mountain for minerals. 59 The potential to secure economic resources associated with mineral exploitation has led to a dispute between the two towns over rights to the mountain, with each trying to push their boundary into the other‟s area. A similar situation also happened in Mana Clan over access to an area suspected to be rich in minerals. In Saykleken Clan, disputes between towns are often over swampland. Many clan members want grow swamp rice; however, swampland is limited. Disputes potentially arise due to high competition for this limited resource. 59 We were unable to determine which mineral this was, though the description of the mountain as “hot” potentially suggests iron ore. CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE IN LIBERIA
84 In other clans, including Ding and Motor Road, disputes between towns are reported to be uncommon. There were no reported instances of disputes between towns in Nitrian. Disputes between Clans/Neighboring Areas Boundary disputes between clans and districts are relatively common in the studied clans, and are primarily related to encroachment and resource use. In Dobli, Gbanshay, and Ylan Clans, many of these disputes are exacerbated when strangers plant life trees on the land. In Gbanshay, clan boundaries have not been clearly demarcated, opening up opportunities for encroachment. In one example, farmers from a neighboring district crossed into Gbanshay to make farms and plant rubber trees. Gbanshay clan members told us that they will take violent action against the encroachers if this dispute is not resolved. Ylan and Dobli Clan members told us that there are several disputes with neighboring clans over alleged encroachment. In Tengia Clan, members reported that they have only one dispute with a neighboring clan. It is an ongoing conflict with Hassala Clan that stems from the claim that their residents are planting cocoa trees on Tengia Clan‟s land. A similar dispute is occurring in Upper Workor, where people in a neighboring district are claiming land in the clan. In Nitrian, there is a conflict between Nitrian Community and Lower Tartweh Chiefdom. According to Nitrian Community members, they gave land in Gboklogba Town to Lower Tartweh Chiefdom for farming. Over time, however, the people of Lower Tartweh began extending their farms beyond the area that was given to them and have since claimed the land. Also, Saykleken Clan members told us of an ongoing conflict between Sarbo and Barrobo Districts, in which Barrobo people claim that the Sarbo are occupying their land. And, Ding Clan has an ongoing dispute with Marquoi Clan due to people from the latter encroaching on Ding‟s forest reserve to make farms. Disputes between tribes in the studied clans were only reported in Saykleken Clan. In Saykleken, there is a continuing conflict between people of the Sarbo and Kiteabo people. The dispute began during Doe‟s administration over a portion of land that has reportedly been deeded to Sarbo. Additionally, there is a conflict between Sarbo and Potupo tribes over farming areas that dates back to 1971. According to Saykleken Clan members, the Potupo people are encroaching on Sarbo land. 6.1.4 Disputes with the Government Disputes between clans and the GOL were almost universally reported to be uncommon in the studied clans with the exception of Motor Road Clan. Motor Road has an ongoing dispute with the Forest Development Authority (FDA) over three principal issues: the extension of the Sapo National Park boundary, the creation of a three kilometer buffer zone around the park potentially necessitating the relocation of the clan‟s community forest, and the lack of a deed for the clan‟s community forest. Additionally, the rules restricting the hunting and trapping of endangered species and the alleged heavy-handed prohibition of hunting these animals fuels the dispute. 60 One nascent dispute exists between Ding Clan and the Ministry of Defense over the Tubman Military Academy (TMA), which claimed 10,000 acres in Ding in 1965 and the neighboring Mehn Clan. TMA only developed 100 to 150 acres of this land and clan members have continued to use and claim the land under customary tenure regimes. However, the Ministry of Defense is seeking to redevelop the academy. Clan members are uncertain about whether the intent is to occupy only the original 100 to 150 acres where the former academy operated, or to expand beyond these limits. They are concerned that, if the area is expanded, citizens residing on the 10,000 acres would be evicted and lose their crop and life tree investments. They report that many of the towns on the TMA claim have either TCs or deeds. The TMA property manager has ordered towns adjacent to the developed area not to harvest the crops that they planted in the developed area. In response, citizens have threatened violence, as has the property manager in return. One local official stated 60 As of July 2011, Fauna and Flora International (FFI) was mediating the dispute between Motor Road Clan and the FDA. The mediation appeared to be progressing toward a mutually acceptable resolution. CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE IN LIBERIA
Page 1 and 2:
LAND POLICY AND INSTITUTIONAL SUPPO
Page 3 and 4:
LIBERIA LAND POLICY & INSTITUTIONAL
Page 5 and 6:
ii 1.0 Introduction ...............
Page 7 and 8:
iv 4.2.1 Statutory Tenure Claims by
Page 9 and 10:
vi 7.3.2 Courts ...................
Page 11 and 12:
viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: Ma
Page 13 and 14:
x ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS CDC CF
Page 15 and 16:
xii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report s
Page 17 and 18:
xiv game for both sale and consumpt
Page 19 and 20:
xvi manage tree crops where these a
Page 21 and 22:
xviii In the clans we visited, stat
Page 23 and 24:
xx DISPUTE RESOLUTION MECHANISMS Di
Page 25 and 26:
xxii Recommended measures include t
Page 27 and 28:
xxiv Remove land and governance au
Page 29 and 30:
2 This chapter begins with a presen
Page 31 and 32:
4 1.2 LAND TENURE AND RURAL LIVELIH
Page 33 and 34:
6 (Renner, 1931). Initially lacking
Page 35 and 36:
8 1.3 HISTORY OF LAND TENURE IN LIB
Page 37 and 38:
10 Certificate is merely a permit t
Page 39 and 40:
12 however, rights granted to commu
Page 41 and 42:
14 2.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This ch
Page 43 and 44:
16 Figure 2.2: FEWS-NET map of Libe
Page 45 and 46:
18 In each case, after completion o
Page 47 and 48:
20 3.0 LAND USE AND LIVELIHOODS Thi
Page 49 and 50:
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 and 102: 74 such as Clan and Paramount Chief
Page 103 and 104: 76 some women who held positions as
Page 105 and 106: 78 could rely. This in turn produce
Page 107 and 108: 80 community sometimes encounter re
Page 109: 82 rubber on adjacent land, as well
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
Page 155 and 156: 128 ANNEX 11: TRIBAL CERTIFICATE FO
Page 157 and 158: 130 ANNEX 13: SEASONAL CALENDARS, M
Page 159 and 160: 132 ANNEX 14: COMMUNITY FOREST BY-L
Page 161 and 162:
134 CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE IN LIBERI
Page 163 and 164:
136 b. A family or individual shall
Page 165 and 166:
138 a. Standing Rules Tree
Page 167 and 168:
140 The amount of rattan collecte
Page 169 and 170:
142 o o o o o o o Antelope Hippo
Page 171 and 172:
144 Any community member or gro
Page 173:
146 U.S. Agency for International D
show all

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

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?