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

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1 1.0 INTRODUCTION This report synthesizes the findings from field research on land and natural resource tenure in 11 clans in Liberia, including Ding, Dobli, Gbanshay, Little Kola, Mana, Motor Road, Saykleken, Tengia, Upper Workor, Ylan, and the community of Nitrian (see Figure 1.1). It further analyzes critical implications of those findings and provides recommendations for addressing sources of tenure insecurity faced by rural communities in Liberia. The research was carried out under the direction of the Liberian Land Commission and was undertaken with the primary purpose of improving the Commission‟s understanding of customary tenure rules and institutions in rural Liberia. The 11 studies were carried out during the period of March 7 to June 30, 2011. The information and analyses are intended to enable the Land Commission to develop sound law and policy that will strengthen the tenure security of rural communities in Liberia. This report was written as part of the Land Policy and Institutional Support (LPIS) Project, supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). The customary tenure studies were coordinated by Landesa and Tetra Tech ARD. Figure 1.1: Map of the 11 Studied Clans CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE IN LIBERIA
2 This chapter begins with a presentation of the study objectives, then proceeds to summarize some of the literature describing land tenure and livelihoods in Liberia today and in the past. This is followed by a brief historical account of land tenure in the customary realm drawing partly on ethnographic research. Next, we offer a synthesis of the main pieces of Liberia‟s civil law that affect the land tenure of tribal people. The chapter concludes with remarks on the interface of customary and statutory tenure. 1.1 BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY As described in the LPIS Scope of Work, the overarching objective of the study was to increase the Land Commission‟s understanding of the needs of rural communities and opportunities for policy and legal reform governing land held under customary tenure. Within this framework, the study sought to address the following objectives, which were agreed upon with the Land Commission prior to embarking on the study and subsequently revisited following the pilot study: Figure 1.2: Research Objectives: Customary Tenure Research I. Area claimed by community (note: not an inventory of claims in the area): Under customary tenure; and Under formal tenure arrangements (public, fee simple). II. Composition of community: Autochthonous/migrants; Women/men; Elderly/middle-aged/youth; Dominant/minority groups; and Former internally displaced persons (IDPs) (from area and not)/people who stayed throughout war/persons who settled during war/new settlers (not former IDPs from area) since war. III. Land and resource uses/tenure niches: Household land/resources–resources, uses, primary and secondary right holders; Commons–resources, uses, primary and secondary right holders; Seasonal changes, historical trends and changes, factors shaping those changes; and Foreseen changes in resource availability and in land uses, ideal changes. IV. Livelihood activities: Farming–specific crops grown, when, and by whom (men/women/youth/other groups), commercial/ subsistence; Livestock, forest resources, water resources, fishing, etc.–when, who, commercial/subsistence; Relative importance of different livelihood activities; Historical trends and changes, factors shaping those changes; and Anticipated changes in livelihoods in the future, ideal changes. V. Rights and rules surrounding land/resources (formal and informal): Accessing land and resources: allocation, inheritance, sharecropping/rental, borrowing; Using private and public land–as a household and in common, restrictions; Overlapping rights–uses, users, seasonal shifts; Differences between women and men, between different groups (including migrants)–accessing land/resources, use rights to land/resources and control rights (who decides), rationales for different rules; Historical trends and changes, factors shaping those changes; and Anticipated changes in rights and rules in the future, ideal changes. 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: xxiv Remove land and governance au
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
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52 Bush and Forest Resources In all
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54 Water and Fishing Access to wate
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56 Other factors cited for contribu
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58 Figure 4.6: Presence of differen
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60 bush resources largely follows c
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62 In Ylan, some land is held under
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64 the majority of studied clans, t
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66 We also found that, in the clans
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68 In some clans such as Upper Work
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70 Town Chiefs Town Chiefs represen
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72 dispute resolution. 55 While in
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74 such as Clan and Paramount Chief
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76 some women who held positions as
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78 could rely. This in turn produce
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80 community sometimes encounter re
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82 rubber on adjacent land, as well
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84 In other clans, including Ding a
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86 Disputes over Mining Mana Clan c
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88 7.0 DISPUTE RESOLUTION Dispute r
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90 7.2.2 Chairladies In Dobli, Gban
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92 7.3.4 Disputes between Clans/Dis
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94 In some clans, the abundance of
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96 8.2.2 Scale of Ownership Claims
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98 If communities anticipate that t
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100 The importance of documenting c
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102 The current land tenure sys
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104 10.0 POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS In
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106 communities. Instead, we sugges
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108 apply for fee simple tenure. Th
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110 tenure unit. Instead, this role
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112 Tribal Certificates and Deeds R
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114 REFERENCES SECONDARY SOURCES Ak
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116 Wallace, Carolyn Gamiao and Rol
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118 DATE TIME ACTIVITY March 23, 20
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120 ANNEX 3: NORTHEAST TRANSECT, DO
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122 ANNEX 5: TOWN MAP, SAYKLEKAN CL
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124 ANNEX 7: HISTORICAL MATRIX, YLA
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126 ANNEX 9: DOBLI DISPUTE LETTER C
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128 ANNEX 11: TRIBAL CERTIFICATE FO
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130 ANNEX 13: SEASONAL CALENDARS, M
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132 ANNEX 14: COMMUNITY FOREST BY-L
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134 CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE IN LIBERI
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136 b. A family or individual shall
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138 a. Standing Rules Tree
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140 The amount of rattan collecte
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142 o o o o o o o Antelope Hippo
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144 Any community member or gro
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146 U.S. Agency for International D
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