environmental degradation as a cause of conflict in - Steiner Graphics

IntroductionLAND tenure is the institutional framework within which decisions are takenabout the distribution and use of land resources. It reflects the varied relationshipsof man to land. The actual structure varies with the status of theeconomy and society at a given time. Whatever the rules regulating the acquisitionand the use of rights in land, the dynamics of the economy and society tend tomodify these rules. Thus, land tenure is adapted to the economic and social conditionsof the society. Through this process of adaptation, several forms emergedvarying from traditional communal tenure, a feature of tribal societies, to privateownership, a feature of market exchange economies.Hence, traditional communal tenure is not static, but it is constantly adaptingitself to the changing social structure and technical and economic requirements ofthe society. It is flexible and allows progressive reduction in the number of rightholders in a given piece of land as the result of social changes. Some years ago,there was no need for exact determination of land as there was plenty for everyone.It was only as pressure on land increased without sufficient incentive for intensification,as markets developed, as new crops were introduced and as human wantschanged that interest in exclusive use became prominent. Hence, land use systemsare the result of adaptations to tenure systems that influence the use of sharedresources.With these views in mind, this paper attempts to examine the evolution of landtenure in Darfur with the aim of identifying the forces that operate to create deviationsfrom the traditional forms. It is asserted here that the traditional tenure inDarfur and land use forms have been considerably modified and adjusted to socialand economic requirements through a natural and spontaneous evolution while,on the other hand, conflicts arise as the result of regulations put in place by theGovernment that are contrary to the traditional systems.The Evolution of Land Tenure in DarfurThe land tenure systems in Darfur are the result of a long historical evolution andchanging political, economic and social organisations. The present structures havetheir roots in the institutions and ways of life among the different tribal groupsin the area. Each tribe acquired for itself a large territory of land (Dar). The Dar isregarded as the property of the whole tribe and the chief of the tribe is regardedas the custodian of the property. Land is allotted to every member of the tribe forcultivation purposes while unused land is left as a shared resource to be used byall the visitors (nomads).The Darfur Sultans did not change the basic structure, but they introduced cer-58