State Law or Folk Law? The Dissolution of Customary Tenure Regimes among Fulani of Niger Delta in Mali

Abstract

"The property rights regimes governing the access and allocation of Sahelian rangelnad resources show great diversity and complexity in patterns of governance, governments and institutions. This complexity is difficult to catch in statutory (written) law. So far national law in most African countries has generally disregarded this complexity. Property reforms have often implied simple nationalisation of common pool resources or introduction of modern forms of private property with little regard for customary institutional arrangements."