Land is of great importance to many people in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It provides employment, income and food for large sections of the population. The increasing pressures of population growth and land degradation are intensifying competition for land between different user groups. Further problems are being created by the loss of traditional land rights and unfair land distributions. This is leading to violent conflict between some groups. New land policies and initiatives are being formed throughout the region to try and reduce these conflicts.

Research by the International Institute for Environment and Development in the UK looks at the issues emerging from changes to land policies in SSA, including the increasing conflicts over land ownership and access.  Other issues discussed in the report are land reform, protecting the rights of vulnerable groups, redistribution, management and rural-urban links.

Competition for land is intense in many parts of SSA, particularly for scarce natural resources such as pasture land and dry season water points. Overseas investors purchasing land for activities such as ranching and mining further reduce the amount of land available to local people. Cultural differences between groups add to the tensions in certain areas, but land issues can also create mistrust amongst families and friends. On a larger scale, disagreements over access to land and resources have contributed to wars, both within a nation and between neighbouring countries.

People in many areas are taking steps to improve their methods for resolving arguments over land. Community structures are being developed to settle disputes without the need to go to higher courts, which is often time-consuming and expensive. An example of a successful new initiative is the ‘peace committees’ developed in Mali to resolve conflicts between herding groups and farmers. These involved leaders from several ethnic groups. Activities included touring villages to give out information and working with groups to resolve arguments.

In other areas, governments are introducing new measures to help with conflict resolution. These include:

• improving justice systems and making courts more accessible to all people in a country
• giving greater powers to local authorities and village councils to deal with conflicts
• creating special land courts to deal with the backlog of cases still not resolved.

Whilst these new institutions can help to settle individual arguments, they do not tackle the underlying causes of the problem. They are also limited by a lack of funding and a lack of people able to perform these tasks. Making greater impacts to reduce conflict over land is likely to be a time-consuming process, and new initiatives must include all the people involved. To make this process successful, the following recommendations are made:

• Greater sharing of information about conflict management is needed, between organisations and between countries.
• Community leaders must be involved in conflict management initiatives, and local expertise must be used.
• Men and women from different social groups must be involved.
• Organisations must target training and education at a number of different levels, including local community group and civil society structures.
• New initiatives must build on the local capacity to resolve conflicts and give greater authority to these groups, within a framework of basic principle and justice.

In many areas, the processes which cause disputes over land to turn into violent clashes are not fully understood. Further research is needed to understand the links between land and conflicts. This must include looking at the circumstances under which competition descends into conflict and what tools are most effective at reducing conflict. Local initiatives have often proved successful, but a larger scale approach is required to tackle the root causes of the problem.

Source(s):
‘Land tenure and administration in Africa: lessons of experience and emerging issues', International Institute for Environment and Development, London, February 2004 Full document.

Funded by: Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA); Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DANIDA)

id21 Research Highlight: 24 September 2004

Further Information:
Lorenzo Cotula
International Institute for Environment and Development
Drylands Programme
3 Endsleigh Street
London
WC1H 0DD

Tel: +44 (0) 207 388 2117
Fax: +44 (0) 207 388 2826
Contact the contributor: Lorenzo.cotula@iied.org

International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), UK

Other related links:
'Land rights in Africa: protecting the interests of vulnerable groups'

'Reducing conflict and improving resource management for Kenyan pastoralists'

'Environmental degradation in Mali: poor farmers or profit?'

'Does land tenure securirty lead to better soil conservation'

'How rich is our land? Re-valuing the communal areas of Southern Africa'

'Uneasy bedfellows? Modern law and traditional landholding principles in Niger'

'Ownership, control and access: land tenure and land degradation in Northern Togo'