on land tenure in Central Africa
Pauline GILLET, Laurène FEINTRENIE, Charlotte LEHNEBACH, Elisabet CODINA LLAVINA, Cédric VERMEULEN
Low deforestation rate compared to other tropical areas (Sanderson et al., 2002)
Conversion of forests for economic purposes (Leadley et al., 2010)
Increase of population densities
Expected
Forest transition (Mather, 1992)
Time (Mather, 1992)
Demographic pressure (Mather, 1998)
Socio-Ecological System (SES) Janssen et al., (2007) Actors Resources Institutions impact Regulate
Evolution of combined effects of social and ecological factors can lead to
tipping point:
« critical point in an evolving situation that make it switch to a new irreversible development » (Repenning et al., 2001)
not been treated.
Land tenure theory (Le Roy et al., 1996)
- Allows to measure level of ownership and co-management of the
customary territory.
- Correlations of the three types of data that characterize traditional African law:
Type of land control
Co-management mode
Hypothesis:
Translation of the majority of land tenure objects from a loose land control with undefined management unit to strict land tenure with precise owners.
Land tenure rule could be used as an indicator to appreciate forest transition at the SES level and predict the presence of tipping points
Study sites
Surveys, participatory observations, group discussions and interviews
Site 1
Site 2
Site 3
1.6 inhabitants/km² Exploitation of natural resources
6 inhabitants/km² Exploitation of
natural resources + logging company 71 inhabitants/km²
Land tenure approach Level of ownership Si ze of m an ag em en t u ni ts Undifferentiated (Access) Priority (Access and extraction) Specialised (Access, extraction and Management) Exclusive (Access, extraction, management and Exclusion) Absolute (Right to use and
dispose thus alienate) Undifferentiated (Access) Priority (Access and extraction) Specialised (Access, extraction and Management) Exclusive (Access, extraction, management and Exclusion) Absolute (Right to use and
dispose thus alienate) Public Extern Intern-Extern Intern (group) Intern (lineage) Private
Hunting
Fishing
Gathering
Agriculture
Forest, rivers, field, village
Land use associated
Forest Fields Large rivers Spaces Small rivers Forest Fields Village Plantations Crops
Possible regulation of man relationship with land and ressources in study site 1
Undifferentiated (Access)
Priority
(Access and extraction)
Specialised (Access, extraction and Management) Exclusive (Access, extraction, management and Exclusion) Absolute
(Right to use and dispose thus alienate)
Public
- Big rivers - Fuel wood - Hunting areas
- NTFP on the ground
- fishing in big rivers
Extern
- All NTFP in forest - Cassava leaves - Gun hunting areas
Intern-Extern
Intern
(group)
- Women fishing area - Non important NTFP
in fields - Hunting camp
Intern
(lineage) - Men fishing area
Private - Fields - Young fallow - Important NTFP in
Site 1 Site 2 Site 3
Results confirmed by an application of the same approach on data coming from Vermeulen and Carrière (2001) and Vermeulen (2011)
Level of agricultural expansion + rise in population density drastic reduction of land available to individual occupancy, leading to hardening of land tenure rules.
Private land ownership and its commercialization
We demonstrate that individual land tenure increases along with the deforestation process.
Land tenure could be used as an indicator of SES shifting more sensitive than evolution of forest cover to appreciate forest transition at SES level Need for further studies to determinate the tipping points thresholds
