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

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additional restriction that permission must be sought from the Wood Committee to cut logs in the clan‟s
bush or forest. Towns in Ding explicitly preserve certain forested areas as wind breaks. Sometimes rules are
particular to primary forest areas, as is the case in Dobli and Nitrian Community where timber from the
primary forest cannot be harvested and where the forest cannot be cleared for farming. Non-timber forest
products (NTFPs) are invariably off limits in forests reserved for cultural activities.
Apart from forests reserved for cultural activities, four of the clans had set aside forested areas for other
purposes. These included Motor Road, Nitrian Community, Ding, and Saykleken. Forest reserves in Motor
Road and Nitrian were community forests established with the assistance of the Forestry Development
Authority (FDA) and other organizations for purposes of either conservation or sustainable management. In
both cases, these forests were managed by the communities themselves and rules disallowed timber
harvesting and collection of certain NTFPs. Saykleken also reported having a forest reserve that the
community itself set aside for conservation purposes. Here only hunting activities were permitted. The origin
of Ding‟s forest “reserve” was also organic. Although its primary purpose was commercial – to lease timber
harvesting rights to pit-sawyers and reinvest the collected funds in town development – clan members also
sought to preserve the land for their children by protecting it from sale. Forest reserves in Ding, Motor Road,
and Nitrian all have forestry management committees charged with enforcing rules agreed on with the
communities. Annex 14 contains the by-laws governing the use of community forests and their resources in
Nitrian and Motor Road, respectively.
Hunting and Trapping. Wildlife is sometimes an open access resource, particularly for certain wildlife
regarded as pests, such as groundhogs in Motor Road and bush cows in Tengia. In Ding, one can freely hunt
in the clan‟s bush without permission, but rules prohibit encroaching on another hunter‟s trap or “row” (i.e.,
pre-established hunting area) or hunting on cultivated land. In Saykleken, only strangers to the clan were
prohibited from hunting in the clan‟s forest and bush. By contrast, in Little Kola where wildlife is scarce,
hunters and trappers from outside must pay one head of their catch to the town.
In some cases, hunting certain types of animals is restricted. In Motor Road, restrictions on hunting protected
species emanate from the FDA rather than customary rules, while bans on hunting leopard, monkey, and
elephant in Upper Workor also appear to be imposed by the state. No limits apply to the amount and type of
animal hunted in Dobli; one must only inform local leaders when hunting with guns for safety reasons. In
general, women do not hunt, and, in particular, never use guns. However, we heard of some cases of women
setting traps for rodents and other small animals. This appears to be more of an entrenched gender role
rather than an explicit prohibition. In all cases, hunting is not permitted in forests set aside for cultural
purposes.
Pit sawing. Pit-sawing – the felling of timber trees with a chain saw – is undertaken in primary forest and
“high bush” (secondary forest) of Ding, Mana, Gbanshay, Dobli, and Ylan. Those who have power saws are
often small in number and associated with having higher well-being than those who do not have them. In
Ding, pit sawyers are said to come from outside the clan, though some clan members also engage in the
activity. Customary rules prohibit the felling of young trees, whether one is pit-sawing or using other means
to fell the tree. To pit-saw in the Ding Clan Forest Reserve, one must first seek the permission of the
management committee, as well as pay a fee based on the number of planks produced, regardless of whether
one is a clan member or a stranger. Unlike other products from forests, persons who wish to pit-saw in
Gbanshay must first ask permission of the landholder. Reportedly, though, no one has ever refused such
requests; we did not inquire as to whether any payment was made by pit-sawyers to landholders.
CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE IN LIBERIA