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Managing Conflicts over Land and Natural Resources through Collective Action: A Case Study from Rural Communities in Zambia

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dc.contributor.author Ajayi, Oluyede Clifford
dc.contributor.author Akinnifesi, Festus Kehinde
dc.contributor.author Sileshi, Gudeta
dc.contributor.author Mn'gomba, Simon
dc.contributor.author Ajayi, Olubunmi Adeola
dc.contributor.author Kanjipite, Webstar
dc.contributor.author Ngulube, John Madalitso
dc.date.accessioned 2012-08-21T19:12:13Z
dc.date.available 2012-08-21T19:12:13Z
dc.date.issued 2012 en_US
dc.identifier.uri https://hdl.handle.net/10535/8299
dc.description.abstract "Seasonal changes and ambiguity in property rights over land and natural resources create conflicts in rural communities in eastern Zambia. This study describes how rural households have minimized such conflicts and protect the economic interests of the poor members of the community through collective agreements on how to manage access to land and natural resources. Specifically, this study describes and evaluates the formulation and implementation of bylaws governing the grazing of animals and the setting of bush fires. First, we describe the background of the social conflicts arising over land and natural resources and the collective agreements to reduce the conflicts, as well as the processes that led to the formulation of the agreements. Using a sample survey of 196 households, we conduct an ex post assessment of the perceived effectiveness of the bylaws, including planned and unplanned impacts of the bylaws. The study shows that collective agreements and dialogues provide important entry points to minimize conflicts over natural resources. Survey results reveal a remarkable increase in the perceived effectiveness of the bylaw on animal grazing over a five year period (from 16 to 46 percent of respondents describing it as “effective”), with a more modest change regarding the bylaw governing bush fires. A number of lessons and recommendations are drawn from the study: (1) collective action can be used to protect the interests of the poor members in the community (especially female-headed households) and raise their voices in matters that affect their livelihood; (2) collective action is not a panacea, especially where power structure is skewed; (3) ex post assessment of the outcomes of collective action is essential to understand planned (positive) and unplanned (negative) outcomes; (4) cultural practices are constantly changing over time and may become opportunities or constraints depending on how communities organize themselves to protect the interests of both the powerful and vulnerable groups." en_US
dc.language English en_US
dc.relation.ispartofseries CAPRi Working Paper, no. 105 en_US
dc.subject property rights en_US
dc.subject impact assessment en_US
dc.subject agroforestry en_US
dc.subject conflict resolution en_US
dc.title Managing Conflicts over Land and Natural Resources through Collective Action: A Case Study from Rural Communities in Zambia en_US
dc.type Working Paper en_US
dc.type.methodology Case Study en_US
dc.publisher.workingpaperseries CGIAR Systemwide Program on Collective Action and Property Rights (CAPRi), Washington, DC en_US
dc.coverage.region Africa en_US
dc.coverage.country Zambia en_US
dc.subject.sector Land Tenure & Use en_US
dc.subject.sector Theory en_US


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