Collective tenure of pastoral land in North Kordofan, Sudan
The report “Collective tenure of pastoral land in Sudan: evidence from North Kordofan” (2024, 40pp) by Hussein Sulieman et al, published by SPARC (Supporting Pastoralism and Agriculture in Recurrent and Protracted Crises), reviews the significance of pastoralism in Sudan and tribal and formal tenure systems and governance. Land acquisition has historically triggered regional conflict and injustice. Pastoralists also grapple with pervasive insecurity from diverse conflicts; the blockage or disappearance of livestock routes; limited mobility owing to inadequate access to water; poorly designed routes and degradation of resting places. These problems severely restrict the spatial and temporal mobility of livestock in the pastoral areas. The authors reviewed literature and studied land tenure and governance using interviews with pastoralists in Jabrat Elsheikh Village, North Kordofan State.
Key findings:
- Tenure for dry-season grazing land is collective, based on unwritten customary rules and regulations, governed by tribal authorities. Tribes occupy large areas termed dar, with hierarchical governance from the nazir down through to sheikhs in villages. State land laws are neither evident nor enforced: the pastoralists are generally unaware of these laws;
- Existing tenure gives equal access to all (male) group members. It also allows individuals from outside the group to access and use the grazing, although management, exclusion and transfer rights remain with the group. This allows the group to prevent overexploitation of the natural resources. Disputes over land are resolved by traditional mechanisms;
- Pastoralists, both as a group and as individuals, feel highly secure in their rights to collective grazing, both during their own lives and for future generations. However, women are traditionally marginalised in decision-making about land and in access, use and management of dry-season grazing;
- Pastoralists foresee challenges from increasing human and livestock populations with more competition for resources. They expect individual interests to take precedence over group interests. Rising interest in crop farming and more people may see cultivated land expanded at the expense of dry-season grazing.
Posted on 11 August 2024 in News, Pastoralism & Natural Resources, Pastoralism, Gender & Youth, Pastoralism, Mobility & Land Tenure