As concern grows about land and resource access in West Africa - due to failed development projects, the degradation of soils, and higher levels of conflict - the contributors to this work draw on their experiences as West Africans to present different ways of understanding land tenure.

The contributors to this book are all West Africans. They draw on their experience to find new ways of understanding land tenure. There is increasing concern about land and resource access in West Africa, both in governments and donor organizations. This concern has emerged as a result of: failed development projects, perceived by many to result from the neglect of land tenure issues; degradation of soils and vegetation which have been associated with poorly defined rules governing management of resources; higher levels of conflict in rural society arising from greater scarcity of natural resources; and the awareness that people need secure rights in order to invest in their farms and improve productivity. Land tenure systems are, therefore, strongly on the agenda of academics and policymakers in this region.

Introduction I UNDERSTANDING THE DYNAMICS OF LAND TENURE Land tenure, resource access &
decentralisation in Ghana - Customary land tenure regimes in north-western Cameroon - Shifting tradition: forest resource tenure in Ghana - Forest tenure &
access to forest resources in Cameroon - Land rights, land use dynamics &
policy in periurban Tamale, Ghana - Behind the norms: women's access to land in Ghana - Land availability &
the land tenure regime in rural Benin - Access to agricultural &
pastoral resources in Nigeria II RECOGNISING LOCAL RIGHTS - NEW APPROACHES Co-management: a participatory approach to sustainable forest management - Piloting the rural land use plan in Benin - The role of the land commissions in natural resource management in Niger III LINKING LOCAL AND NATIONAL LEGAL SYSTEMS Tenure problems in pastoral land use management - The role &
limitations of the land commissions in Niger - Decentralised management of renewable natural resources in Mali - Land tenure &
pastoral resources in northern Yatenga, Burkina Faso - Land taxes &
charges in Senegal - Compulsory acquisition of land in Ghana: the 1992 constitution: opening new vistas? - Bibliography - Index