CONFLICTS OVER LAND OWNERSHIP IN NORTH GONDAR, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

A survey study was conducted in 2012 to investigate the impacts of issuance of land certificates on occurrence of land related conflicts. The study assessed farmers’ perception trends of land related conflicts before and after land registration and issuance of land certificates, the sources of conflicts and measures taken to curve the conflict situation. The target populations for primary data collection were land holders who have received land certificate, and relevant district land administration offices and peasant association (PA) land administration experts. The findings of this study confirmed that trends of land related conflicts showed decreasing trends from 43% to 27% over the base year (2005), implying that the land reform has contributed to reduction of land related conflicts. However, the key informants supported the increasing trends of land conflicts. All agreed that conflict occurs because of disagreements sourced from different sources: illegal land transfer, institutions and individual vested interest on land, squatting on communal lands, inheritance procedure awareness, and improper parcel registration. The main attributes of land conflicts include unmarked boundaries, speculative purchases, multiple authorities governing land, communal land grabbing, and poor governance of land necessitate further intervention.