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

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15 7, and 8 cover only a single area, Livelihood Zone 2 covers two areas, Zone 4 covers three areas, and Zone 6 covers four areas. For those zones covering only one area, only one site was selected. For the remaining zones, the research team selected the two largest areas that they covered and selected one site in each area. This eliminated Zone 4 in Grand Cape Mount County and Zone 6 in Grand Gedeh County and Gbapolu County. This left the research team with a total of 10 areas with one clan unit selected from each. Subsequently, due to security issues along the Cote d‟Ivoire border, Livelihood Zone 7 in Nimba County was replaced with Dobli Clan in Bong County (Livelihood Zone 1) and Livelihood Zone 4 in Maryland County was replaced with Nitrian Community – comprised of two official clans in Sinoe County (also Livelihood Zone 4). The selection of Nitrian Community was also based on the interests of the USAID Land Rights and Community Forest Project in undertaking a tenure assessment in the region where the project supported community forest efforts. In the case of three other selected sites, initial selections were discarded and replaced with clans that reflected the specific interest of the Land Commission to understand tenure dynamics in those areas. The final selection comprises the clan units below: 1. LR 01: Upper Workor–Lofa; 2. LR 01: Dobli, Bong; 3. LR 02 Area 1: Mana–Grand Cape Mount; 4. LR 02 Area 2: Ylan–Nimba; 5. LR 03: Motor Road–Sinoe; 6. LR 04 Region 1: Little Kola–Grand Bassa; 7. LR 04 Region 2: Nitrian–Sinoe (also served as a case study for the Land Rights and Community Forestry Project supported by the FDA and USAID); 8. LR 06 Area 1: Tengia (Foya District)–Lofa; 9. LR 06 Area 2: Saykleken, River Gee; and 10. LR 08: Ding–Montserrado. In addition, Gbanshay Clan in Bong County was randomly selected from those clans surrounding the city of Gbargna. Gbanshay Clan served as the pilot site for field training on Rapid Rural Appraisal methods. Therefore, in total, the team carried out 11 case studies. CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE IN LIBERIA
16 Figure 2.2: FEWS-NET map of Liberia Livelihood Zones 2.2 METHODS FOR GATHERING AND REPORTING INFORMATION The research informing this report was gathered using Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) methods. RRA is a qualitative research methodology that draws heavily on the knowledge, perspectives, and values of local communities to understand a given problem or phenomena. It involves application of a collection of different tools – often applied in group settings – that engage communities in explaining and interpreting their own realities. RRA places a premium on local knowledge and validation of research findings by local community members who have contributed their knowledge. In applying RRA methods, rigor comes from employing researchers from different disciplines and backgrounds to form RRA teams who ask different questions and interpret information through different disciplinary and lifeexperience lenses. Rigor also derives from liberal use of „triangulation,‟ seeking the same information multiple times from different sources, using different tools, and asking questions in different ways. It also comes from spending a minimum of five days in the community, not only doing research exercises with members, but also socializing, working, and living with them during this time – which helps build trust and mutual respect. Since the 1970s, RRA methods have been applied to understand land and resource tenure realities and issues in rural communities. They have the advantage of enabling researchers to gain an appreciation of complex social institutions and dynamics at a reasonable cost and within a relatively short period of time. In order to prepare for RRA field research on land and natural resource tenure in 11 Liberian clans, a research team of 10 participated in a three-day training course in RRA methods led by ARD‟s Mark Freudenberger. Subsequently, researchers engaged in a pilot case study in Gbanshay Clan, also facilitated by Mark Freudenberger. This involved training in the techniques by day and engaging in “restitution” during the evenings to download the information gained onto flip charts and to discuss areas for improvement. After the pilot, the group divided into two teams of five, each responsible for carrying out the research concurrently in different parts of Liberia over a period of four months. Each team consisted of one technical 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 and 40: 12 however, rights granted to commu
Page 41: 14 2.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This ch
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
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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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