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

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8.2.2 Scale of Ownership Claims
Our study reveals that, even when land is deeded, how rights are vested greatly influences land tenure
security. Whereas both Dobli and Nitrian claimed to have communal deeds, in Dobli, there is great
uncertainty as to whether the deed is issued in the name of the district or a former government minister.
Meanwhile, a powerful leader designated as the “landlord” reportedly exerts great influence over access to
land and has the power to evict clan members. Furthermore, clan members are uncertain about who has the
deed. As a result, many people within the clan have acquired or are seeking to acquire TCs and deeds to
defend their claims. By contrast, in Nitrian, where the deed to the community‟s land is reported to be in the
name of the community, people seem to feel much more tenure secure than Dobli citizens.We did not hear
of any member of Nitrian community trying to acquire TCs or deeds to secure their rights to land.
Tenure insecurities in Dobli are compounded by the fact that the two different types of TCs have been issued
to applicants, one by the GOL and another by the “landlord.” Members reported that when they have tried to
use TCs from the landlord to obtain deeds, the TCs were rejected by government officials. Only the elite and
outsiders have been able to obtain deeds in the clan. Other people that have tried to acquire deeds have been
threatened with eviction by the landlord.
8.2.3 Concessions and Private Investors
In Nitrian, Mana, and Little Kola, community members were adamant that investors and concessionaires
should not be given permission to use land held under customary tenure without first consulting and
compensating community members. Yet, our visits with these communities – particularly Mana and Nitrian –
showed that clan members are rarely consulted prior to licenses and concessions being granted. In Nitrian
Community, members reported that there are no concessions in the community, and yet we later learned that
various concessions within the community have been granted by the government. In one example, 240,000
hectares were granted to Golden Veroleum for an oil palm concession. The company is already improving
roads in the area to facilitate access to the land, which will cover a significant portion of Nitrian Community.
Community members did not mention this concession as a potential threat to their land rights, raising
concerns among members of the research team that the government either signed the agreement without
informing the community members, or that community members are aware of the concession but do not
understand the implications of the concession in terms of their land rights.
In Mana, clan members feel insecure in their access and rights to the clan‟s land and mineral resources.
Several predicted that wealthier people – including Class B mining companies – will acquire all of the mining
claims in the clan, leaving none for citizens, and may even acquire claims to the land used by clan members
for farming. While clan members recognize that mining and logging concessions could bring employment
benefits, the vast size of these claims means that concessions have the potential to displace settlements and
customary landowners. Clan members realize that they are competing for land and claims with wealthier,
more powerful interests, and that this has the potential to jeopardize their access to the resources on which
their livelihoods depend. The growth of such concessions could prove to be the most formidable threat to
the tenure security of members of Mana Clan and Nitrian Community.
Even in some clans without concessions or private investors, there is a sense of tenure insecurity based on
experiences in neighboring clans. For example, in Little Kola, community members raised concerns about
potential concessions in their clan, owing to their growing presence in neighboring clans and negative
experiences with concessionaires of these clans. Reportedly, the Liberian Agricultural Company, which
operated in Grand Bassa, forcibly removed more than 60 towns within one of its concession areas. In Motor
Road, a timber company known as the Railroad Timber Company reportedly occupied clan members‟ houses
and promised to give them zinc roofs in return for logging their land. Clan members also reported that they
destroyed the forests in the clan. According to them, no consultations were undertaken with the
communities, who were afraid to challenge the loggers because they were armed with AK-47s and were (ex)-
combatants. In the end, they left without providing zinc or paying rent on the houses they occupied. Many
citizens of these clans are anxious to acquire deeds to their land, and hope that by doing so their land will be
CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE IN LIBERIA