Land Tenure Insecurity and Inequality in Nicaragua

Abstract

This article uses empirical data from a case study in rural Nicaragua to demonstrate the need for a conceptualization of tenure security as seen from the perspective of the landholder. A large group of farmers in the case study area perceive their tenure situation as being insecure despite the fact that they possess a legal title to their land. The article argues that more attention must be paid to aspects such as inequalities of wealth and power, lack of enforcement and lack of impartiality on the part of the formal institutions when addressing tenure security in an institutionally unstable setting, such as that found in Nicaragua. The article contributes to the ongoing discussion by arguing that future research on how to increase rural land tenure security should explore the concept of tenure security as experienced by farmers.

Pro-Poor Land Reform : A Critique

“…But partly because government offi cials were legally limited to owning less than fi fty acres of land, these new, real owners were never registered as owners (Bratton, 1990: 282-283). Rikki Broegaard's (2005) notion of "perceived tenure security" in the context of land title holders in Nicaragua is equally enlightening along the lines of argument advanced in this study.…”

Customary tenure systems under siege: contemporary access to land in Northern Ghana

“…They also observe that temporary farmers often plant trees and build other landescapitale in order to enhance the security of their fragile holdings. Broegaard's (2005) study in Nicaragua showed that a large group of farmers perceived their tenure situation as being insecure despite the fact that they possess formal titles to their lands. In order for a person to use land titles for ensuring their rights to a piece of land, they require access to social, economic and political resources.…”

Certification Schemes and the Governance of Land: Enforcing Standards or Enabling Scrutiny?

“…Unlike the Bonsucro provisions, then, this recognises that even the rights of those formerly living on and using the land in question may themselves have been contested, and that it is a prior condition of the company establishing its own land rights that it first determine what the existing rights are. This is hugely important given that in many parts of the world, legal recognition of land rights falls short of the negotiated and contested nature of land tenure (see Broegaard, 2005;Juul and Lund, 2002). This contributes to tenure insecurity that is particularly acute in cases when land tenure arrangements are under threat from outside intervention (Peters, 2004).…”