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Jacques Kenjio, Ph.D., is a 2023 graduate of the Ph.D. Program in Environmental Studies at Antioch University, New England

Dissertation Committee:

  • Jason Rhoades, PhD, Committee Chair
  • James Gruber, PhD, Committee Member
  • Camilla Toulmin, PhD, Committee Member

Keywords

Land Tenure, Land Reform, Land Expropriations, Government-Driven Land Dispossessions, Multistakeholder Participation, Sub-Saharan African, Land Law, Mixed Methods

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Date

2023

Abstract

This research study seeks to understand interested parties’ perspectives on Cameroon's existing land tenure systems, the 1974 land law, and ongoing efforts to reform this land law. It identifies both concerns and specific recommendations from these parties on the formulation and implementation of future reforms. In the decades following the achievement of independence from European colonizers, most governments in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have adopted new national land tenure policies to meet their countries’ needs and aspirations. In some parts of SSA, however, this process of land tenure formalization has negatively impacted the land rights of people observing customary land tenure. This has been a result of government interventions such as compulsory land acquisitions, which while technically legal, are ethically questionable. In the face of this challenge, efforts to reform post-colonial land laws have become a matter of urgency. A national land reform process for Cameroon, announced in 2011 has adopted a multistakeholder approach. My study seeks to understand interested parties’ perspectives on Cameroon’s existing land tenure systems, the 1974 land law, and ongoing efforts to reform the land law. This study applied a case study methodological approach and a convergent mixed-method design. Evidence from this study shows that interested parties in Cameroon are in agreement on 1) the reform of the 1974 land law, 2) the recognition of customary land tenure, 3) the continued use of multistakeholder participation in land law reform, and 4) the promulgation of the new land law through mass sensitization and information dissemination.

Comments

Jacques Kenjio

ORCID Scholar ID# 0000-0002-3664-3708

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