Institutional factors in natural resource management in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa - Institutional Constraints to Small Farmer Development in Southern Africa - page 229

and confusion resulting from institutional factors for the management of resources will be
dealt with.
10.5.1 Conflicts on the management of natural resources
There is usually a close linkage between tenure and conflict over land. Within a society,
competing claims for control and use of land may cause conflicts. Population growth and
changing economic factors can increase competition for access to land (Buckles and Rusnak,
2006). Competition is usually regulated by a society's tenure rules, which are developed in
response to dynamic social, economic and political relationships. When these tenure rules
are unable to adjust sufficiently rapidly to changing circumstances, the chance of conflict
arising is increased (Matiru et al. , 2000). For example, customary tenure systems usually
originated in areas where resources were extensive compared with the population size and,
importantly, where there was a shared social consensus between the various holders of
rights. When this social consensus breaks down, conflicts arise.
Contrary to the provisions of various acts by the government, the traditional leaders in
some African rural communities believe that the land belongs to the people and that it
will be re-allocated to members of the community in the traditional manner (Ghee and
Valencia, 1990). This is because traditional leaders fear losing authority over the allocation
of land to the State and this causes conflict between the traditional leadership and the State.
Besides the fear of losing the land, conflict also results from lack of agreement about how
to utilize resources on rangelands. This is because individual community members have
different views regarding the use of their rangelands and when they fail to collaborate or
respect communal governance structures, conflicts results (Warner, 2000). This indicates
that lack of understanding and respect causes conflicts regarding land use and management.
Buckles and Rusnak (2006) argued that conflicts could hinder sustainable management
efforts particularly if the interests of influential members within the community are such
that collective management is not supported. For example, in the Eastern Cape, there is a
conflict caused by influential members regarding access to water dams. Those without other
sources of water except for the water dams want to fence of the water dams to prevent
contamination by animals while those with other alternatives regarding water sources are
not interested in conserving communal water because they want their animals to have
access to the water dams. On the other hand, newly settled households are in conflict with
existing households over grazing rights. The new settlers do not have any arable land but
have livestock and the conflict arises when they wish to utilise grazing lands that are already
in use (Manona, 1980, cited by Deshingkar and Cinderby, 1999).
McCarthy et al. (2000) pointed out that causes of tenure conflicts in African countries are
similar and can arise from various situations. Conflicts may arise because of unclear boundaries