CONTEXT

There is great evidence that land plays a significant role in production activities around the world. At the same time, it is the subject of several conflicts. The Law N°201/008 of 06 May 2011 lays down the basis for the general orientation for the planning and sustainable development of the Cameroonian territory. It provides the groundwork for a national system of strategic land development. This law lays down the principle of spatial planning and sustainable development and applies to all activities related to the allocation and use of land of land. Regional planning is based on regional and local development, sustainable development and environmental protection, the establishment of the principle of subsidiary within the framework of decentralization, and the establishment of a contractual mechanism for the joint management of space by the State and decentralized territorial communities.

The Law determines the planning and regional development instruments including:

• the national regional planning and sustainable development plan at the national level (SNADDT);

• the regional planning and sustainable development plan at the regional level (SRADDT); and

• The local land use planning and sustainable development plan at (PLADDT) level.

These efforts are aimed to diminish overlapping land use and conflicts.

As part of the analysis of conflicts in Africa on land, the African Union (AU) through its directives of September 2010 underlines that the causes of land conflicts are multiform. These include, among others, land conflicts related to access to land, access and management of natural resources, instability; expropriation, redistribution, compensation, unequal distribution of land etc. This has as a corollary displacement of people, forced evictions, genocide, social inequity etc.

As a consequence, the AU encourages African States to develop land policies that promote conflict prevention, the restoration of peace and consideration of African realities. In Cameroon, land matters are governed by the land ordinances of 1974 and other subsequent texts that coexist and sometimes conflict with customary rules. This legal dualism, in a context of progress towards development, with land as an essential resource, gives rise to conflicts that could considerably jeopardize the challenge of emergence as formulated in the 2035 vision and the National Development Strategy (SND - 2030).

Based on the above, since 2011, the Government of the Republic of Cameroon has undertaken a reform of the land law, with the original objective of adapting the land law to the demand for land as a prelude to the '' second generation agriculture ''. Several actors since then have made their proposals heard, among others, the Mbororo Social and Cultural Development Organization - MBOSCUDA through a series of workshops. MBOSCUDA has also contributed through the assistance of SNV in the elaboration of the Pastoral Code, currently undergoing the process of promulgation.

There exist several land use conflicts in Cameroon, the most important that concern the Mbororo pastoralist is the Farmer-Grazier conflict. These farmer grazier conflicts are caused by multiple factors including amongst others, the encroachment of farmers into grazing land, the destruction of crops by cattle, cattle maiming etc. Approaches to resolve these conflicts have never been easy and such solutions are usually temporal. The approach of participatory land demarcation could be a long lasting solution to the encroachment problem. This is because the law governing land tenure appears contradictory, limited, defective, conflict oriented and less appropriate to development challenges and sociological realities of Cameroonians. Thus embarking on participatory land demarcation is certainly going to be meaningful and less costly for the local communities in general. Local communities would come to realize that land resource management is intricately linked to peaceful coexistence. 

The training and awareness-raising workshop of the network of excellence on land governance in Africa (NELGA) and of MBOSCADA North West Chapter on land demarcation and farmer- grazier conflicts constitutes a reference framework for exchanges, sharing, listening between academics, Mbororo pastoralist and civil society organizations regarding the challenge and role that MBOSCUDA should play in the current land governance. The goal being to build a consensus on the need to stimulate research on the basis of agro-pastoral practices and land use conflicts on the one hand, and on the other hand, to converge points of view between academics, Mbororo herders and civil society organizations.

Certainly, the realization of this activity will contribute to the implementation of the African Union's agenda on land, and will, via NELGA, strengthen the promotion of applied research, the establishment of long-term and short-term training and the organization of dialogues with the political sphere.

OBJECTIVES OF THE WORKSHOP

The principal objective of the two-day workshop on participatory land demarcation and farmer-grazier conflicts is to sensitize and train MBOSCUDA members on the importance of participatory land demarcation as a tool of land governance and in the prevention and management of agro-pastoral related conflicts.

Specific objectives are to:

1. Present the concept of participatory land demarcation as an approach to land governance and a conflict prevention mechanism;

2. Discuss the barriers of land access by Mbororo pastoralists in Cameroon;

3. Discuss the root causes of agro-pastoral conflicts and existing mechanism to resolve them taking the example of efforts made by MBOSCUDA North West;

4. Chart the way forward (road map) and come out with an action plan for MBOSCUDA leaders.

EXPECTED RESULTS

It is expected that by the end of the workshop the following will be achieved:

1. The concept of participatory land demarcation as an approach to land governance and a conflict prevention mechanism is presented to the participants;

2. The barriers to land access by Mbororo pastoralists in Cameroon is discussed and well comprehended;

3. The root causes of agro-pastoral conflicts and existing mechanism to resolve them taking the example of efforts made by MBOSCUDA North West is clearly presented and discussed;

4. The way forward (road map) and an action plan for MBOSCUDA leaders on agro-pastoral conflict resolution mechanisms, with a special focus on participatory land demarcation developed.