(pradd) – liberia - Land Tenure and Property Rights Portal

characterized by extreme poverty, limited skills, and few employment alternatives. Given the close connectionbetween rough diamonds and its potential to threaten peace and security, any attempt to improve registrationwould have to go beyond policing to address the development needs of miners that are obstacles in the wayof licensing.Formalization of the ASDM sector is key to improving Liberia’s compliance with the KPCS. The presentlegal and regulatory framework for the minerals sector does not address the realities of ASDM sufficiently. Aconcerted cross-cutting approach towards formalizing the sector and improving the legal and regulatoryframework will serve a dual purpose: GOL can increase the amount of diamonds entering the chain ofcustody and increase revenue generated by the ASDM sector, while at the same time addressing the social,environmental, and development needs of artisanal diamond mining communities. Both these factors wouldin turn contribute towards social stability and improved livelihoods for rural communities.Long-standing land disputes and effective management of natural resources feature prominently on theagenda of several post-conflict policy documents. These disputes reflect deep-rooted and complex conflictover identity and citizenship, tenure and ownership, and the reintegration of refugees and ex-combatants intocommunities. 7 Insecurity of tenure and legal uncertainty over access to natural resources proliferate social andeconomic volatility with the potential to reignite violent conflict.Most rural communities in Liberia live according to the rules of a traditional customary system, including acustomary system of property rights. Property is held communally by the community, according to unwrittenrules and structures of authority to ensure social coherence and compliance with those rules. At present,government policy only recognizes individual property rights which can only be obtained throughregistration. Rural communities only have use rights on the property they hold and use communally, althoughthey consider it to be ownership rights. This duality is causing conflict, as most rural Liberians rely on accessto natural resources to sustain themselves.The impact of insecurity of tenure on artisanal diamond miners and their communities cannot be divorcedfrom land conflict and development planning. According to estimates, almost 30 percent of the populationdirectly or indirectly relies on the artisanal mining sector for their livelihoods. 8 Furthermore, approximately 70percent of diamond diggers are ex-combatants and alternative livelihoods are extremely limited. As morerefugees and ex-combatants return after the war, and more land gets tied up under concessions, the negativeimpacts of insecurity of tenure will marginalize artisanal miners and their communities even further.The recommendations in this report are based on an analysis of two specific aspects:1. Gaps and contradictions between existing mining laws and policies that are causing conflict forASDM and their communities with a view to propose solutions to:a) Increase registration of diamond production;b) Improve benefits from diamond mining to diamond mining communities; andc) Improve compliance with environmental reclamation to foster a culture of sustainability.2. Issues surrounding the clarification of property rights and improved access to mining sites forASDMs.7Liberia Poverty Reduction Strategy. 170.8USAID GEMAP. viii.2 PRADD LIBERIA: A REVIEW OF THE LEGAL, REGULATORY AND POLICY FRAMEWORKGOVERNING ARTISANAL DIAMOND MINING IN LIBERIA