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

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13 national law contradicts customary law in terms of forest ownership. For example, even those who hold titles to forest land do not own the trees. Wily (2007, p. 24) states that there is “…a vacuum in national law as to the exact status of customary land interests”. Thus, those who hold forests under customary claims and the government are in contradiction in regards to who owns forests and how they should be used and regulated (Wily, 2007, p. 13). In short, the relationship between customary and statutory land tenure systems has been characterized by “separation and isolation, ambiguity and confusion, the emergence of ad hoc property norms, and customary tenure versus statutory and state sanctioned customary law” (Unruh, 2009, p. 10). The non-integrated and exclusionary approach to land ownership in Liberia has bred disrespect for land rights derived from custom and the structures that uphold those rights (10). Today, customary institutions that were once recognized by the government are now being threatened, and the recognition of native rights to land has become increasingly weak (Wily, 2007). CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE IN LIBERIA
14 2.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This chapter discusses the process for selecting the research sites and the methods that were employed in the study of customary land tenure in Liberia. It also highlights the limitations of the study and provides a brief profile of the communities visited. 2.1 SITE SELECTION Initial site selection was based on Livelihood Zones featured in the Livelihood Zoning “Plus” Activity in the Liberia (Draft) Report by USAID‟s Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET). This report was prepared as part of an effort to establish remote early warning systems for food security risks in places where FEWS NET does not currently have an office. A key part of this exercise was to map livelihood zones that are the primary source of livelihood generation corresponding to a particular geographic area. The FEWS NET report provides for nine livelihood zones: Figure 2.1: Livelihood zones in Liberia as described by USAID FEWS NET Livelihood Zone 1 North-East Rice Intercropped with Cowpeas and Groundnuts + Palm Oil 2 North/Central Rice with Cassava + Market Gardening 3 South-East Rice with Cassava 4 Coastal Plain Cassava with Rice and River Fishing 5 Coastal Fishing and Cassava 6 Rice Intercropped and Forest Hunting 7 Plantain Cash Crop with Food Crops 8 Rubber and Charcoal with Food Crops 9 Monrovia Peri-Urban: Petty Trade, Market Gardening and Casual Employment These zones are mapped across 15 distinct areas of Liberia. See Figure 2.2. To arrive at the 10 communities needed, the research team leader initially undertook a random selection within each livelihood zone, eliminating Livelihood Zones 5 and 9 because of the limited geographical coverage and in the case of Monrovia because of the likelihood that customary tenure institutions would be minimal to non-existent. While Livelihood Zones 1, 3, 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: 12 however, rights granted to commu
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
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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
Page 101 and 102:
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
Page 133 and 134:
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
Page 155 and 156:
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
Page 171 and 172:
144 Any community member or gro
Page 173:
146 U.S. Agency for International D
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