Resource information
Uganda’s northern region was traditionally inhabited by communities with predominantly pastoral lifestyles. As the country began developing administrative structures in the region, most clans found themselves settled into agro-pastoral communities. The elders found it imperative to demarcate areas of land to fit different uses, with areas for family settlement and cultivation clearly separated from other areas for communal use. Land was either demarcated by the leaders of a particular settlement or by the dominant clan for the benefit of everyone else in that area. Today, these common lands are shared by multiple villages and mainly used for grazing cattle, hunting, gathering fruits and wild foods, firewood, building materials, traditional medicines, and recreation. In regions like Lango, it is common to find these communal lands located adjacent to wetlands, which form part of the communities’ common resources and provide water for domestic use.
