Land tenure regimes for women in Community Resource Management Areas (CREMAs) in Northern Ghana: Opportunities and threats. (October 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Dugasseh, Frank Akowuge; Aapengnuo, Clement; Zandersen, Marianne
• Is Part Of: Land use policy. Volume 109(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-10
• Subjects: Land rights -- Tenure security -- Women, Community Resource Management Area (CREMAs) -- Evolutionary Theory of Land Rights -- REDD+ -- Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA); Land use -- Periodicals; Land use -- Government policy -- Periodicals; Sol, Utilisation du -- Périodiques; Sol, Utilisation du -- Politique gouvernementale -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 333.7305
• DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105602
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0264-8377

Abstract

Abstract: This paper analyses women's access and security to land under customary land governance in Community Resource Management Areas (CREMAs) in Northern Ghana through document analyses and surveys of 312 land right holders and tenants from 13 communities. The key interest is to investigate the potential for combining customary land practices with land title registration and education in improving women's economic empowerment and social development in the Dorimon and Zukpiri CREMAs. The paper focuses on the motivation of land right holders to grant land rights to women through land use agreements and reasons for terminating such agreements, and provides critical perspectives and data to support the development of tenure security indicators for community protected agro-ecological areas. The study also assesses the position of women in anticipation of forest carbon credits as against their current land holding rights and concludes that despite inherent weaknesses of customary land governance in protected areas, opportunities exist to scale up and expand the formalisation of land use rights through CREMAs, education and the use of Voluntary Savings and Loans Association to enable women gain access to sufficient land. This could significantly help improve women smallholder farmers' tenure security to land, provide livelihood options, enhance food security and ensure their participation and profit from entering into result based ecosystem payment scheme such as REDD+. Highlights: Women have poor access to land and land tenure security under customary land governance and state land title registration. Combining land title registration with customary land governance may provide women with better land access and security. Community co-creation, education and access to small-scale loans are essential and fosters inclusivity of vulnerable groups. Participation in REDD+ for women requires access to land and land tenure security and sufficiently large plots of land.