Human Continuum of Land Rights

SUMMARY

In this activity participants explore the concept of the continuum of land rights. Participants will be able to associate the theoretical concepts with familiar situations and examples.

TIMING

20 minutes for group activity and 20 minutes for presentation

MATERIALS

This activity requires a flip chart

ACTIVITY WORKFLOW

1. In order to conduct this activity, the participants should be divided into groups of three or more people. Ensure that the groups are equally represented, gender-balanced, and composed of participants from different sectors and/or locations.

2. Assign each group a category to represent either rural, urban formal, or urban informal scenarios. You can assign each scenario a number one through three and let each group choose the number at random. If the participants can only form two groups, use just the rural and one urban scenario.

3. Start the discussion by asking participants to assume the following case scenarios:

a. Rural Group: You are a member of Mansa Community. The community is in a rural district of Mansa in Zambia. The community’s main livelihood is a nomadic pastoralism. The community shares grazing areas, water points, and salt licks with other communities. Individual community members own land and access for residential purposes through the Chiefs who are guided by the customary laws of the community in the area. In the community there are other herders for neighbouring communities who will return to their communities in three months. The community also has government primary and secondary schools, as well as a prison owned by the government.

b. Formal Urban Group: You live in an upmarket area in Nigeria. You own a piece of land where you stay. Other neighbors are renting the main house. Some of the land titles were issued by the government as freeholds and others issued by the county government as leaseholds. In other households, the houses are occupied by relatives of the owners who either moved to their rural homes or to another country.

c. Informal Urban Group: You are renting a house in Mathare in Nairobi, Kenya. The landlord of the area built the houses ten years ago. There are high-voltage electricity lines in the area. The land belongs to the Department of Defense. You are sharing the house with your friends.

4. Each group should discuss the different land rights within their context.The discussion should use the concept of the continuum of land rights.

5. Each group should write their responses on a flip chart, indicating the different rights with respect to the continuum of land rights.

6. For the general discussion, each group should indicate with evidence how the different land rights arise.

7. Give each group five minutes to present their continuum of land rights.

8. At the end, the trainer summarizes the overall view of the continuum of land rights.