This paper discusses the internal processes and decisions that characterized the transition from collectively held group ranches to individualized property systems among the Maasai pastoralists of Kajiado district in Kenya. It addresses the question of why group ranch members would demand individualized property systems, but then turn against the outcome. In addressing this puzzle the paper discusses the process of land allocation and distribution during group ranch subdivision.

The colonial and postcolonial legacy of the “Lost Counties” land issue has recently resurfaced as a contentious ethno-political issue in Uganda. The aim of the paper is to critically examine the politics of belonging and land rights in relation to Ugandan land legislation and the “Lost Counties” issue. The empirically basis of this paper is primarily derived from field work in Kibaale District, during the period January to July 2004.

The main argument of this paper is that insecurity of land tenure is a socio-political condition that can be made and unmade. This discussion paper focuses on customary land rights, particularly in the African context. The paper reveals that:

Changing conflict resolution institutions in the Ethiopian pastoral commons:
the role of armed confrontation in rule-making

This paper explores and analyses contemporary contests over land tenure in
northern Tanzania’s village lands as they relate to wildlife management and land policy
and legislation. It details the nature of the contests and conflicts, including their legal
aspects, and further seeks to diagnose the underlying political economic reasons behind
these endemic conflicts. It concludes by relating these underlying issues to the broader
macroeconomic environment and efforts to improve the security of local land tenure in

The report considers the different laws and policies relevant to wildlife management in Kenya, and critiques these in relation to conceptual and legal problems, ecological and institutional problems. It suggests a rethinking of property rights for wildlife management so that local communities can better benefit.

This paper explores the puzzle of why the pastoral Maasai of Kajiado, Kenya, supported the individualization of their collectively held group ranches, an outcome that is inconsistent with theoretical expectation. Findings suggest that individuals and groups will seek to alter property
rights in their anticipation of net gains from a new assignment, even as they seek to eliminate disadvantages that were present in the status quo property rights structure. Heightened perceptions of impending land scarcity, failures of collective decision making, the promise of

The document provides a comprehensive study on past and current land management, including an overview of legislation on pasture access and management, and pratical examples of pasture management in practice.

This set of research briefs present a summary of research work undertaken jointly by ILRI, IFPRI and the University of Gottingen. The research has the following objectives:

- To better understand how environmental risk affects the use and management of resources under various property rights regimes.

- To identify circumstances under which different pathways of change in land use and property rights are followed.

This paper reviews, discusses and points issues relating to land tenure and their relevance to policy and legal reforms in Uganda. The fundamental argument on land tenure in the report is that pastoral production is determined by land use patterns which in turn determine whether the herders are mobile or not.

In recent years, issues of access to land and natural resources have been of growing concern to developing country governments and donors. Much evolution in experience and thinking has taken place over this period, with several multilateral and bilateral donors drawing up new policy papers on land.

In recent years, local people and rural communities have assumed increasing prominence in strategies for natural resource management.This paper briefly reviews some of the central legal issues that are associated with this shift. In doing so, its goals are limited. It does not ad dress fundamental questions about when, where and what kind of management works, nor attempt to identify the political, social, economic and environmental ingredient s for success – subjects on which there is a huge, if still inconclusive, literature.