Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Beyond Panaceas in Land Tenure Systems in Ghana: Insights from Resilience and Adaptive Governance of Social-Ecological Systems

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Selected Themes in African Development Studies

  • 806 Accesses

Abstract

Land tenure basically refers to the system of formal and informal institutions governing people’s relationship with one another and with the land and natural resources on which they depend. Historically, customary land tenure systems that rely on traditional institutions for managing access to communally owned lands have been the dominant medium for land allocation in Ghana and most of sub-Saharan Africa. For several decades, tenure reforms have focused on transforming the African land tenure system from the customary system through land nationalization and privatization. Among other issues, the goals have been to promote tenure security, economic efficiency, and sustainable resource management. Thus far, these tenure reforms have yielded mixed results. Current problems include bottlenecks in land administration, weakening of traditional institutions, and increasing marginalization and landlessness among vulnerable groups. Based on insights from the literature on resilience in social-ecological systems, this chapter highlights the need to move beyond the search for panaceas in land policy toward institutional frameworks that can mediate the complex and dynamic relationships between people and land. The chapter proposes adaptive governance as an institutional framework that can promote an integrated approach to managing land and other natural resources with the aim of building the resilience of communities and regions against the impacts of various drivers of change.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Acheson JM (2006) Institutional failure in resource management. Annu Rev Anthropol 35:117–134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adams M, Sibanda S, Turner S (1999) Land tenure reform and rural livelihoods in southern Africa. Natural resource perspectives (39). Overseas Development Institute, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Akamani K (2012) A community resilience model for understanding and assessing the sustainability of forest-dependent communities. Hum Ecol Rev 19(2):99–109

    Google Scholar 

  • Akamani K, Wilson IP (2011) Toward the adaptive governance of transboundary water resources. Conserv Lett 4(6):409–416

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allen CR, Fontaine JJ, Pope KL, Garmestani AS (2011) Adaptive management for a turbulent future. Environ Manag 92:1339–1345

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Armitage D (2008) Governance and the commons in a multi-level world. Int J Comm 2(1):7–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Armitage D, Plummer R, Berkes F, Arthur RI, Charles AT, David-Hunt IJ et al (2009) Adaptive co-management for social-ecological complexity. Front Ecol Environ 7(2):95–102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asabere PK (1994) Public policy and the emergent African land tenure system: the case of Ghana. J Black Stud 24(3):281–289

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Awuah-Nyamekye S, Sarfo-Mensah P (2011) Ensuring equitable distribution of land in Ghana: Spirituality or policy? A case study from the forest-savanna agroecological zone of Ghana. Int Indige Policy J 2(4):1–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Balint PJ, Stewart RE, Desai A, Walters LC (2011) Wicked environmental problems: managing uncertainty and conflict. Island Press, Washington, DC

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Berkes F (2004) Rethinking community-based conservation. Conserv Biol 18(3):621–630

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berkes F (2007) Understanding uncertainty and reducing vulnerability: lessons from resilience thinking. Nat Hazards 41:283–295

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berkes F (2009) Evolution of co-management: role of knowledge generation, bridging organizations and social learning. J Environ Manag 90:1692–1702

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berkes F, Jolly D (2001) Adapting to climate change: social-ecological resilience in a Canadian western Arctic community. Conserv Ecol 5(2)

    Google Scholar 

  • Berkes F, Feeny D, McCay BJ, Acheson JM (1989) The benefit of the commons. Nature 340:91–93

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clover J, Eriksen S (2009) The effects of land tenure change on sustainability: human security and environmental change in southern African savannas. Environ Sci Pol 12:53–70

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colfer CJP (2005) The complex forest: communities, uncertainty, and adaptive collaborative management. Resources for the Future Press, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Corfee-Morlot I, Cochran I, Hallegatte S, Teasdale P (2011) Multilevel risk governance and urban adaptation policy. Climate Change 104:169–197

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cosens BA (2013) Legitimacy, adaptation, and resilience in ecosystem management. Ecol Soc 18(1)

    Google Scholar 

  • Cosens BA, Williams MK (2012) Resilience and water governance: adaptive governance in the Columbia River Basin. Ecol Soc 17(4)

    Google Scholar 

  • Cotula L (ed) (2007) Changes in “customary” land tenure systems in Africa. IIED, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Cotula L, Cisse S (2007) Changes in “customary” resource tenure systems in the Inner Niger Delta, Mali. In: Cotula L (ed) Changes in “customary” land tenure systems in Africa. IIED, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Cotula L, Neves B (2007) The drivers of change. In: Cotula L (ed) Changes in “customary” land tenure systems in Africa. IIED, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Cotula L, Toulmin C, Hesse C (eds) (2004) Land tenure and administration in Africa: lessons of experience and emerging issues. IIED, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Damnyag L, Saastamoinen O, Appiah M, Pappinen A (2012) Role of tenure insecurity in deforestation in Ghana’s high forest zone. For Policy Econ 14:90–98

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dietz T, Ostrom E, Stern P (2003) The struggle to govern the commons. Science 302(5652):1907–1912

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Endter-Wada J, Blahna DJ (2011) Linkages to public land framework: toward embedding humans in ecosystem analysis by using “inside-out social assessment”. Ecol Appl 21(8):3254–3271

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Endter-Wada J, Blahna D, Krannich R, Brunson M (1998) A framework for understanding social science contributions to ecosystem management. Ecol Appl 8(3):891–904

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2008) Climate change, bioenergy and land tenure: technical background document. FAO, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • Folke C (2007) Social-ecological systems and adaptive governance of the commons. Ecol Restor 22:14–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Folke C, Carpenter SR, Elmqvist T, Gunderson L, Holling CS, Walker B (2002) Resilience and sustainable development: building adaptive capacity in a world of transformations. Ambio 31(5):437–440

    Google Scholar 

  • Folke C, Hahn T, Olsson P, Norberg J (2005) Adaptive governance of social-ecological systems. Annu Rev Environ Resour 30:441–473

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Folke C, Pritchard L, Berkes F, Colding J, Svedin U (2007) The problem of fit between ecosystems and institutions: ten years later. Ecol Soc 12(1):30

    Google Scholar 

  • Folke C, Carpenter SR, Walker B, Scheffer M, Chapin T, Rockstrom J (2010) Resilience thinking: integrating resilience, adaptability and transformability. Ecol Soc 15(4):20

    Google Scholar 

  • Folke C, Jansson A, Rockstrom J, Olsson P, Carpenter SR, Chapin FS III et al (2011) Reconnecting to the biosphere. Ambio 40:719–738

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gunderson L, Light SS (2006) Adaptive management and adaptive governance in the everglades ecosystem. Policy Sci 39:323–334

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holling CS (1973) Resilience and stability of ecological systems. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 4:1–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kabba VTS, Li J (2011) One country, two systems: the dualistic land tenure system in Sierra Leone, and the need for reform. J Am Sci 7(1):1123–1129

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasanga K, Kotey NA (2001) Land management in Ghana: building on tradition and modernity. IIED, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasanga KR, Cochrane J, King R, Roth M (1996) Land markets and legal contradictions in the peri-urban area of Accra Ghana: informant interviews and secondary data investigations. Land Tenure Center Research Paper 127. University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI

    Google Scholar 

  • Lastarria-Cornhiel S (1997) Impact of privatization on gender and property rights in Africa. World Dev 25(8):1317–1333

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu J, Dietz T, Carpenter SR, Alberti M, Folke C, Moran E et al (2007) Complexity of coupled human and natural systems. Science 317:1513–1516

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marshall GR (2008) Nesting, subsidiarity, and community-based environmental governance beyond the local level. Int J Comm 2(1):75–97

    Google Scholar 

  • Matiru V (2000) Conflict and natural resource management. FAO, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • Meinzen-Dick RS, Brown LR, Feldstein HS, Quisumbing AR (1997) Gender, property rights, and natural resources. World Dev 25(8):1303–1315

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Land and Natural Resources (2011) Land administration project phase two: project implementation manual. Accra, Ghana

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell D (2011) Assessing and responding to land tenure issues in disaster risk management, vol 3, FAO land tenure manual. Working Group on Early Recovery, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson R, Howden M, Smith MS (2008) Using adaptive governance to rethink the way science supports Australian drought policy. Environ Sci Pol 11(7):588–601

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olsson P, Folke C, Berkes F (2004) Adaptive comanagement for building resilience in social-ecological systems. Environ Manag 34(1):75–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olsson P, Gunderson LH, Carpenter SR, Ryan P, Lebel L, Folke C et al (2006) Shooting the rapids: navigating transitions to adaptive governance of social-ecological systems. Ecol Soc 11(1):1–21

    Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom E (2009) A general framework for analyzing sustainability of social-ecological systems. Science 325:419–421

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom E (2010) Polycentric systems for coping with collective action and global environmental change. Glob Environ Chang 20:550–557

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom E, Burger J, Norgaard RD, Policansky D (1999) Revisiting the commons: local lessons, global challenges. Science 284:278–282

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Owuba CE, Le Master DC, Bowker JM, Lee JG (2001) Forest tenure systems and sustainable forest management: the case of Ghana. For Ecol Manag 149:253–264

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Redman CL, Grove MJ, Kuby LH (2004) Integrating social science into the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network: social dimensions of ecological change and ecological dimensions of social change. Ecosystems 7:161–171

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rijke J, Farrelly M, Brown R, Zevenbergen C (2013) Configuring transformative governance to enhance resilient urban water systems. Environ Sci Policy 25:62–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Toulmin C (2009) Securing land and property rights in sub-Saharan Africa: the role of local institutions. Land Use Policy 26(1):10–19

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ubink JM (2008) In the land of the chiefs: customary law, land conflicts and the role of the state in peri-urban Ghana. Leiden University Press, Amsterdam

    Google Scholar 

  • USAID (2010) Climate change, property rights, and resource governance: emerging implications for USG policies and programming. Property rights and resource governance briefing paper #2

    Google Scholar 

  • USAID (2011) The future of customary tenure: options for policymakers. Property rights and resource governance briefing paper #8

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker B, Holling CS, Carpenter S, Kinzig A (2004) Resilience, adaptability and transformability in social-ecological systems. Ecol Soc 9(2):5

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams BK (2011) Passive and active adaptive management: approaches and an example. J Environ Manag 92:1371–1378

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wily LA (2011) ‘The law is to blame’: the vulnerable status of common property rights in sub-Saharan Africa. Dev Chang 42(3):733–757

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yandle T (2003) The challenge of building successful stakeholder organizations: New Zealand’s experience in developing a fisheries co-management regime. Mar Policy 27:179–192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yaro JA (2010) Customary tenure systems under siege: contemporary access to land in Northern Ghana. GeoJournal 75:199–214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang D, Owiredu EA (2007) Land tenure, markets, and the establishment of forest plantations in Ghana. For Policy Econ 9:602–610

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forestry, Southern Illinois University, Agriculture Building, Lincoln Drive, Carbondale, IL, 62901, USA

    Kofi Akamani

Authors
  1. Kofi Akamani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kofi Akamani .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Howard College Campus, University of KwaZulu-Natal School of Social Sciences, Durban, South Africa

    Lucky Asuelime

  2. Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana Faculty of Social Studies, Accra, Ghana

    Joseph Yaro

  3. Howard College Campus, University of KwaZulu-Natal School of Social Sciences, Durban, South Africa

    Suzanne Francis

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Akamani, K. (2014). Beyond Panaceas in Land Tenure Systems in Ghana: Insights from Resilience and Adaptive Governance of Social-Ecological Systems. In: Asuelime, L., Yaro, J., Francis, S. (eds) Selected Themes in African Development Studies. Advances in African Economic, Social and Political Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-06022-4_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation