Identifying community membership in collective land tenure: Exploring linkages and sharing experiences in the case of River Cess County in Liberia
Ali D. Kaba, Constance Teage, Oscar Bloh
Over the past ten years, Liberia has implemented progressive land tenure reforms. The Community Rights Law (CRL) of 2009, the Land Rights Policy (LRP) of 2013, and draft Land Rights Act (LRA) to a varying degree, recognize customary rights to land. These rights include rights of the community as a collective and the rights of individuals, groups, or families within the community. However, the membership of communities has been significantly altered over the years, partly due to the protracted civil war in the country. This has made community definition, membership, and benefit sharing mechanisms precarious. In view of this, the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI), with support from the Interim Land Taskforce of Liberia and the Land Governance Support Activity under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID-LGSA), piloted a project to investigate community membership under the Land Rights Act (LRA). This paper assesses how communities identified as customary land holding units define “community membership” and distinguish between the rights of a community “member” and that of an “outsider.” It provides an analysis on how individuals and groups gain access and benefit to shared land and resources.
Event: Land Governance in an Interconnected World_Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty_2018
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