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

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that a compromise might be possible if the TMA does not extend beyond the previously developed area and
if citizens are permitted to harvest the crops they had planted.
6.1.5 Disputes between Customary and Statutory Tenure
Disputes over contradictory customary and statutory claims to land are increasing in some clans, including
Ding, Dobli, Mana, and Ylan. In Ding and Mana Clans, these disputes can also be categorized as disputes
between clan members – who claim land under customary tenure – and well-connected outsiders – who claim
land under statutory tenure, including TCs and deeds. In Ding, disputes arise when existing private farms
deeded to outsiders seek to expand into areas held under customary tenure, as well as when local authorities
illicitly issue TCs to land in the clan to strangers. Clan members report that they are unaware of these
transfers until the new “owner” arrives to develop their land. In Mana Clan, disputes between statutory and
customary claims are played out between local communities and companies seeking land for mining or
logging. These companies allegedly extract local resources, damage clan infrastructure, and renege on
promises of service provisions and improvements to clan infrastructure. Further, locals do not benefit. In one
such example, Mano Resources – a Class B mining company – is reportedly prospecting without a proper
license and failed to consult with local authorities before beginning operations. In another case, a logging
company damaged clan roads and refused to pay for improvements. Despite community appeals to local
authorities, these disputes have not been resolved.
Yet disputes between customary and statutory tenure also exist among clan citizens. In Dobli and Ylan Clans,
both outsiders and clan members are reported to attest to having deeds and TCs for huge parcels of land. In
these clans, the documents are purportedly obtained irregularly, with fake signatures. The latter point is also
true in Ding, where clan members assert that local government officials are complicit in these irregular land
sales. In Ding, Dobli, and Ylan, the confusion is exacerbated when there are multiple claimants to the land,
often each having documents “proving” their individual ownership. In Little Kola Clan, despite large areas of
land being held under deed, disputes between statutory and customary claims were uncommon. One reason
for this is that many of the deeds are recognized as legitimate by local governance authorities, and at least two
of the deeds are held by individuals or groups on behalf of clan members. As a result, clan members are able
to continue accessing the land held under deed according to their customary rules. Clan members reported
only one dispute between a deed holder and the townspeople of Pineapple Beach. According to one local
governance authority, the man claims to have a deed for 75.5 acres, but none of the town citizens have seen
the deed and doubt its existence. Further, the man has allegedly prevented citizens from accessing and
carrying out development projects on the contested land. The dispute is currently being heard by the Town
Elders.
There were no such disputes reported in Motor Road, Nitrian, Tengia, Upper Workor, or Saykleken.
6.1.6 Other Resource Disputes
Disputes over Fishing
Minor disputes over fishing occur in each of the studied clans. These disputes usually arise between women
over access to and use of local creeks and streams. For example, in Little Kola, fishing disputes occur when
one woman removes another woman‟s basket and replaces it with her own. In several clans, these disputes
occur when women from one town use creeks in another town without asking for permission. These disputes
are resolved locally.
There is, however, at least one larger dispute related to fishing rights. In Ding Clan, there is an ongoing
dispute over rights to fish in the St. Paul River. According to clan members, a group of 15 fishermen from
Kakata arrive every dry season with hundreds of nets and deplete the fish supply in the river. Clan members
suspect chiefs of taking bribes in exchange for not heeding citizen complaints. They have threatened to
physically block the fishermen from accessing the river, should they come again.
CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE IN LIBERIA