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

More documents

Recommendations

Info

19 portion of Little Kola Clan is included in Annex 2, while a transect walk matrix is included in Annex 3. Transects inevitably proved invaluable to enriching the team‟s knowledge and provoking new inquiry. Additionally, members from towns throughout the clan were invited to participate in the exercises and discussions. The study participants were regularly asked, “Is this true for the entire clan or just this particular town” This type of questioning provided researchers with a way to distinguish whether information was specific to certain towns or if it was more broadly applicable to the clan. In general, the majority of the information conveyed reflected the situation for the larger clan. Where information was specific to a particular town or area of the clan, it was noted within the case study reports. While women were very active and vocal during RRA sessions in some clans, in others, women sat in the back and contributed very little to the discussions unless instructed by the men or requested by the research team to speak. In order to ensure the knowledge and perspectives of women were captured and reflected in the case studies, the research teams held several women-only exercises facilitated by female research team members. During sessions that engaged women exclusively, women were typically more vocal than in mixed groups and contributed vital information to the study. Another challenge that the research team faced was the expectation of remuneration for attending RRA sessions or for being interviewed. Although the research team compensated members for transportation from outside the town where RRA sessions were held, some community members wanted payment for their time. The research team addressed this problem by informing the communities at the beginning of each study that participants would not be paid for attending RRA sessions or for talking to the team. Despite a lack of remuneration, explaining that the study offered clan members a chance to shape land policy and law in their country proved especially helpful in eliciting people‟s willingness to participate. At the end of each visit, the research team surprised communities with a donation of supplies for their community school, a gesture that earned the team and the Land Commission great appreciation. CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE IN LIBERIA
20 3.0 LAND USE AND LIVELIHOODS This chapter begins with a profile of the communities that we visited, then identifies the different natural resources available in the studied clans, and lastly, describes land and resource uses and livelihoods. 3.1 PROFILES OF COMMUNITIES VISITED The majority of people in the rural clans we visited live in towns, most of which are small communities comprised of extended families and kinship groups. Generally, the small size of most communities, combined with familial bonds, afforded the reproduction of close social networks and interdependencies. Households within each town are typically clustered together or lined up along the main road. Most households are comprised of five to 10 people, although we observed some with up to 20 people, including married sons and daughters, living in the same house or compound. Standards of living vary throughout the clans we visited. Those clans within close proximity of Monrovia – namely Mana, Ding, Gbanshay, and Ylan – have improved infrastructure, access to markets, and cellular phone service (though this is still tenuous). The more isolated communities in Little Kola, Motor Road, Upper Workor, Tengia, Saykleken, and Dobli Clans, and Nitrian community, tended to have fewer infrastructural improvements and a higher prevalence of unimproved roads, rickety bridges, absent or unreliable cellular phone service, and thatch roofs. Several also had limited access to markets, though important exceptions did exist. Members of these clans often blamed the poor infrastructure for hindering a variety of economic activities. Within each clan, we also conducted well-being rankings with small groups. Each group was asked to describe characteristics associated with individuals in the clan considered to be living well (high well-being), living poorly (low well-being), and those in the middle (medium well-being). Once they identified the characteristics of persons living in each category, the groups were then asked to distribute a handful of beans between the three categories to indicate the approximate distribution of persons in their particular clan within each category of well-being. Most people in the studied clans fall in the poor or low well-being category by their own assessment. Typically, it is those who are well-off that have big farms, food security, and houses with zinc roofs, and who send their children to good schools, have cash, and buy labor. Other distinct characteristics of relative wealth include sending children to Monrovia (or to other urban areas) and having cultivated tree farms. Alternatively, those who are poor are, in some clans, landless (or have small farms) and they struggle to find food, have little or no cash, and must sell labor to survive. Those of medium well-being often have small businesses, farms, and houses. They also tend to struggle to survive, but are generally better off than the poor. 3.2 LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCE USES Although the landscape and natural resources in the visited clans vary, most sites are characterized by hilly terrain supporting upland and lowland cultivation areas. The extent of primary forest appears to be diminishing in many clans, though most report having at least some, often set aside for cultural practices. Secondary forest or “bush,” which is converted to agricultural land after a period of fallow, tends to be much more extensive. However, in many cases, fallow periods are reported to be contracting significantly. We found that land dedicated to permanent tree cropping is increasing in some clans, while in other cases, the effects of war and poor access to markets constrained their production. Land set aside for settlement and farming is typically home to lineages which have occupied and farmed the land for hundreds of years. Ylan Clan is also occupied by a 200 acre refugee camp that provides shelter to Ivorian refugees. Out of the 11 clans visited, only one reported having significant diamond and/or gold reserves. Rivers and creeks were plentiful in most clans; two also border the Atlantic Ocean. 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 and 42: 14 2.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This ch
Page 43 and 44: 16 Figure 2.2: FEWS-NET map of Libe
Page 45: 18 In each case, after completion o
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
Page 93 and 94: 66 We also found that, in the clans
Page 95 and 96: 68 In some clans such as Upper Work
Page 97 and 98:
70 Town Chiefs Town Chiefs represen
Page 99 and 100:
72 dispute resolution. 55 While in
Page 101 and 102:
74 such as Clan and Paramount Chief
Page 103 and 104:
76 some women who held positions as
Page 105 and 106:
78 could rely. This in turn produce
Page 107 and 108:
80 community sometimes encounter re
Page 109 and 110:
82 rubber on adjacent land, as well
Page 111 and 112:
84 In other clans, including Ding a
Page 113 and 114:
86 Disputes over Mining Mana Clan c
Page 115 and 116:
88 7.0 DISPUTE RESOLUTION Dispute r
Page 117 and 118:
90 7.2.2 Chairladies In Dobli, Gban
Page 119 and 120:
92 7.3.4 Disputes between Clans/Dis
Page 121 and 122:
94 In some clans, the abundance of
Page 123 and 124:
96 8.2.2 Scale of Ownership Claims
Page 125 and 126:
98 If communities anticipate that t
Page 127 and 128:
100 The importance of documenting c
Page 129 and 130:
102 The current land tenure sys
Page 131 and 132:
104 10.0 POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS In
Page 133 and 134:
106 communities. Instead, we sugges
Page 135 and 136:
108 apply for fee simple tenure. Th
Page 137 and 138:
110 tenure unit. Instead, this role
Page 139 and 140:
112 Tribal Certificates and Deeds R
Page 141 and 142:
114 REFERENCES SECONDARY SOURCES Ak
Page 143 and 144:
116 Wallace, Carolyn Gamiao and Rol
Page 145 and 146:
118 DATE TIME ACTIVITY March 23, 20
Page 147 and 148:
120 ANNEX 3: NORTHEAST TRANSECT, DO
Page 149 and 150:
122 ANNEX 5: TOWN MAP, SAYKLEKAN CL
Page 151 and 152:
124 ANNEX 7: HISTORICAL MATRIX, YLA
Page 153 and 154:
126 ANNEX 9: DOBLI DISPUTE LETTER C
Page 155 and 156:
128 ANNEX 11: TRIBAL CERTIFICATE FO
Page 157 and 158:
130 ANNEX 13: SEASONAL CALENDARS, M
Page 159 and 160:
132 ANNEX 14: COMMUNITY FOREST BY-L
Page 161 and 162:
134 CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE IN LIBERI
Page 163 and 164:
136 b. A family or individual shall
Page 165 and 166:
138 a. Standing Rules Tree
Page 167 and 168:
140 The amount of rattan collecte
Page 169 and 170:
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
show all

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

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?