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

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Yet, we also found several sources of land tenure insecurity. They included:
1) Improper transfers of land held under custom to elites, often improperly facilitated by local
authorities;
2) Lack of appropriate documentation to prove and protect claims to land, often arising from the
cost and complexity of pursuing formal documentation of rights;
3) Where deeds exist, distrust of or uncertainty about individuals and institutions in which rights are
vested;
4) Lack of community consultation when granting land or other resources to outsiders, including
private investors and government, sometimes coupled with negative experiences with companies
or government agencies;
5) Government acquisitions of land claimed under customary tenure and the historical precedent of
undocumented land belonging to the government;
6) The risk that the descendants of those who acquired deeds and TCs could assert individual
claims to the land and remove it from the realm of customary tenure;
7) Unclear and contested land boundaries which are sometimes disregarded, especially by people
planting life trees;
8) Risk that land borrowers will attempt to assert a permanent claim to land by planting life trees;
and
9) Women‟s tenuous rights to land in their husband‟s community or lesser access and control rights
over land as compared to men more generally.
The importance of documenting customary claims and clarifying statutory claims to land is starkly apparent
when one looks at the main causes of tenure insecurity in the clans visited. In those clans experiencing
increasing competition for land and mounting tenure insecurity, the demand for statutory forms of
documentation to back up their claims to land is especially strong – particularly for documentation that would
secure the rights of whole towns and extended families. This is viewed as the most effective means by which
rural communities can protect their land from acquisitions that neglect to benefit them.
COMMUNITY RECOMMENDATIONS
In each of the 11 clans, clan members voiced their recommendations to the Land Commission. We
commonly heard that government should survey and provide TCs or deeds for land claimed by
families/towns/clans held under customary tenure; that all land transactions – including rentals and
borrowing arrangements – should be documented and documents should be kept securely so as to prevent
land conflicts; that customary rules for managing land and natural resources should be respected; and that
government should prevent local government leaders from abusing their power and taking or selling land.
Clan members also frequently provided recommendations for improving local livelihoods.
POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
We drew from the research carried out in 11 clans to provide suggestions for actions the GOL can take to
strengthen the tenure security of rural communities who rely primarily on custom to secure their rights to
land and natural resources. These are structured around three principal objectives:
1) To provide legal recognition of customary land tenure and immediately protect rural communities
from further challenges to their customary claims;
2) To develop an inclusive process for adjudicating and recording community-based tenure claims in a
manner that reflects local norms and values and provides equitable access to land for rural
populations; and,
3) To reform local land and natural governance structures so that they command social legitimacy and
can be held accountable by their constituencies.
CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE IN LIBERIA