{"id":10634,"date":"2021-06-23T18:53:44","date_gmt":"2021-06-23T16:53:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.interpeace.org\/?p=10634"},"modified":"2021-06-24T20:18:47","modified_gmt":"2021-06-24T18:18:47","slug":"putting-inclusive-governance-at-the-heart-of-rural-land-tenure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.interpeace.org\/fr\/2021\/06\/putting-inclusive-governance-at-the-heart-of-rural-land-tenure\/","title":{"rendered":"C\u00f4te d'Ivoire: Putting inclusive governance at the heart of rural land tenure"},"content":{"rendered":"

Public policies and arrangements managing the use of land in C\u00f4te d'Ivoire now need inclusive collaboration between authorities and populations to settle longstanding issues and prevent conflicts concerning land in rural areas, says recommendations from a broad consultative process facilitated by Interpeace and partner Indigo C\u00f4te d'Ivoire. These recommendations have come at the end of a 26-month project that worked\u00a0to strengthen sustainable and inclusive governance of the State-led land tenure and conservation process\u00a0in the country. The participation in rural land management project, known by its French acronym PAGEFOR, was concluded during a\u00a0national forum of all stakeholders\u00a0held\u00a0in the main city Abidjan on\u00a031\u00a0March 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way public policies are implemented can be a source of conflict. Land provides economic opportunities to the population, and is also intimately linked to their history,\u00a0identity,\u00a0and\u00a0social\u00a0status. For this reason, changing the rules governing the exploitation of a forest, displacing people from protected areas or adjusting the borders of a village can\u00a0upset the social order\u00a0and trigger\u00a0resistance,\u201d<\/em> explained Margaux Pimond, Programme Manager at Interpeace C\u00f4te d'Ivoire.<\/p>\n

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Photo credit: INDIGO<\/p><\/div>\n

Recent policies implemented to preserve classified forests and to map the demarcation of village territories have caused misunderstandings and tensions in some rural communities in C\u00f4te d'Ivoire. Low levels of knowledge about the policies and limited dialogue around the implementation processes have generated\u00a0mistrust\u00a0and\u00a0made\u00a0it\u00a0difficult\u00a0for communities to collaborate, hence creating a\u00a0serious problem for technical agents to access communities and do their work.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore\u00a0the\u00a0[village]\u00a0delimitation process, we thought the State\u2019s policy was to take away our land and that after the demarcation, we\u00a0would\u00a0no longer have access to our land,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0said Dosso\u00a0Metogba, Youth President of\u00a0Massala-Assolo\u00a0community.<\/p>\n

Considering these challenges and their consequences to peace and\u00a0social cohesion,\u00a0Interpeace\u00a0and Indigo\u00a0C\u00f4te d'Ivoire\u00a0designed and implemented the PAGEFOR project with the goal to\u00a0improve understanding and ensure that these tensions are managed collaboratively.\u00a0The project received financial support from the European Union and targeted specific areas in the country.<\/p>\n

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Photo credit: INDIGO<\/p><\/div>\n

Through this project, our teams\u00a0conducted a\u00a0participatory\u00a0study on the\u00a0obstacles\u00a0to\u00a0the\u00a0peaceful implementation of\u00a0the\u00a0preservation and\u00a0village delimitation processes.\u00a0The results informed the creation of collaboration frameworks\u00a0with community members, local\u00a0authorities,\u00a0and technical\u00a0agents to\u00a0jointly address these challenges through dialogue and cooperation.<\/p>\n

Together, members of the collaboration framework\u00a0supported communities and\u00a0all relevant\u00a0stakeholders;\u00a0improving\u00a0their understanding and management\u00a0of the dynamics linked to the preservation of classified forests and protected areas\u00a0in western\u00a0C\u00f4te d'Ivoire. They conducted a series of\u00a0information sessions\u00a0on the objectives and\u00a0legal frameworks\u00a0surrounding those processes and facilitated\u00a0dialogue around their concrete implications for local populations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were\u00a0sensitized\u00a0in the past, but we misunderstood. It was after an activity\u00a0organised\u00a0in\u00a0Barata\u00a0by Indigo that we understood\u00a0[properly]\u00a0and were convinced. We were told what delimitation means, what it\u00a0allows us\u00a0to do and what will happen if\u00a0it does\u00a0not.\u00a0This is what led us to create a framework for collaboration with all members of the society,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0explained the\u00a0Massala-Assolo\u00a0Youth President.<\/p>\n

The project also\u00a0empowered\u00a0existing collaboration frameworks and\u00a0local\u00a0peace committees\u00a0in the field of rural development with the capacities they need to\u00a0identify early warning signs, prevent, or mediate any conflicts\u00a0that are linked to this process of preserving the protected areas or delimitation of village borders.<\/p>\n\n\t\t