Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Traditional management knowledge is gradually being lost as more of the younger
generation of pastoralists is attracted to urban areas (Twine, 2005). Under community
ownership, local institutions may keep their traditional roles of managing the resources,
deciding how to allocate resources between pastures and deciding on the nature of the
rights to be allocated to members and non-members. These opportunities may empower
local institutions and provide them with the ability to organize collective action and sustain
the livelihoods of their communities (Ngaido
and McCarthy, 2004).
Customary or indigenous law, on the other hand, is a source of law that provides a set of legal
rules, particularly for the allocation and use of communal land. It can be distinguished from
western or general law in that it is generally unwritten but meaningful to rural communities.
Customary law is more closely attached to people's culture, hence territorial in nature
(Cousins, 1995). Fisher (1993), cited by Payne (1997), argued that under customary law,
land is regarded as belonging to the community at large not an individual. This system has
an authority where people agreed to its existence and its enforcement and effectiveness
is largely dependent upon the respect and power by the traditional authority structures
charged with its implementation (Corbett and Daniels, 1996).
Customary law is seen as a body of rules established over the years with the intension
of resolving disputes between individuals (Ankomah and Fox, 2000). Under customary
law, the power of rights is regularly partial and some of these rights may not be easy to
implement (Ortmann, 2000). Most of the rules from customary laws are immemorial rules
coming from the general background of what was the issue of general information, which
was then retained in the memories of the chief and his people until they became part of
the immemorial rules (Roy, 2005). In addition, indigenous peoples' institutions administer
customary law, and the validity of such laws and their contents, including the related
procedures, is generally known about, at least by the older members of the community.
Bennett and Barrett (2003), in their study on the management of communal rangelands
in the Eastern Cape, discovered that at Koloni, communal rangelands are grazed during
summer while the arable land is used during winter as a communal forage reserve. However,
the case is different with Guquka, in that the arable land is used in all seasons. The conclusion
that can be drawn from the customary system is that it forms a pillar that supports peoples'
decisions regarding the use of their rangelands.
Cultural norms
Culture reflects peoples view on what is happening in the real world and where groups
of people join to adapt to their natural and social environment. Mazrui (1980), cited by
Zenani and Mistri (2003), also define culture as a community and the way they are living
based on their values and beliefs. Therefore, culture plays various roles depending on the
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