Legal empowerment for local resource control

the implementation of micro-projects such as the construction of clinics,
schools, wells or other facilities. In some countries, legislation allows this
option. For instance, Ghana’s Land (Statutory Wayleaves) Act (as amended in
2000) enables payment of compensation through “suitable alternative
land”. In Cameroon, compensation for expropriation may be paid in cash or
in kind, including through provision of alternative land (sections 3 and 8 of
Law 85-09 of 1985). And, Tanzania's Village Land Act Regulations allow a
range of compensation forms, including cash, alternative land, “regular
supplies of grains” for specified periods, and other forms as may be agreed.
This may enable greater flexibility in compensation schemes, so as to tailor
these to the specific needs of affected local resource users.
In other cases, in-kind compensation is paid by foreign investors as a
“supplement” to statutory compensation – possibly to meet higher World
Bank or other compensation standards. Indeed, where World Bank policies
apply, Operational Policy 4.12 also enables combinations of cash and/or inkind
compensation.
In-kind compensation also raises issues, however, including in relation to
the quality of the alternative land provided (in terms of soil fertility, access
to market and services, etc.), and to possible tensions that may arise
between resettled and pre-existing groups.
Compensation to whom?
In much of rural Africa, local resource rights are held by groups and
individuals through diverse blends of individual to collective rights. This
raises issues as to who should receive compensation – ranging from the
individual to the household up to the lineage or clan. These issues must be
addressed on a case-by-case basis in light of the specific structure and
distribution of rights.
In some cases, legislation allows this. In Tanzania, for instance, where land
is transferred from village-managed land to land managed by central
government agencies, compensation is paid to the village as a whole for loss
of communal land, and to villagers for loss of their rights of occupancy
(Village Land Act Regulations, section 8).
Collective forms of compensation are also faced with the challenge of
addressing the distribution of compensation benefits within the group. In
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