UDTR Global Rights of Nature Radar

The transmission of land rights in wetlands in Buganda kingdom, Uganda

Identification

Public canonical key

openalex:w3184041400

Authors

Claire Médard · Valérie Golaz

Reported year

2019

Reported language

en

Source type

conference-paper

First detected

2026-11-09T19:11:06.518683+00:00

Last metadata observation

2026-11-09T19:11:06.518683+00:00

Last HTTP verification

Not checked

Institutions reported by the source

Institut national d'études démographiques

Documentary abstract — original language

In rural societies which rely on agricultural expansion to settle younger generations, wetlands are often considered as a frontier. Yet, in central Uganda, no area remains unclaimed and wetlands were legally privatised more than a century ago. At the start of the British colonisation, wetlands were treated like any other tract of land and included in large estates (mailo, from the English mile), legally allocated to Buganda kingdom dignitaries, which were measured, recorded and mapped. These maps were used, updated and centrally managed by the State. They were digitized and replaced by a computerised Land Information System during the years 2009-2014. In spite of official land registration, overlapping land rights are the rule. Rights to plots (bibanja) on titled land were recognised, creating two categories of land-owners: title-holders and plot-holders. Both are able to transmit actual land and/or their title to land to their children. Common inheritance rules apply to both mailo and bibanja. Instead of keeping domains or plots intact under one official heir, more and more, the land is being split between children in the father’s line, more or less equally, even though in some situations daughters are side-lined in the name of clan ideology. Since land was privatised a long time ago, wetlands are being extensively subdivided and allocated to individuals, despite government policies to protect and regulate the use of wetlands. In terms of land-use, due to the nature of the land, wetlands were indeed treated differently until recently. With the increased value of land, wetlands have become a new frontier at the centre of overlapping claims. While some title holders and plot holders are claiming their inheritance in wetlands to sell it, competing strategies have led others to claim wetlands as a group, confronting authorities, for individual gain or/and in the name of future generations.

Identifiers

OPENALEX

W3184041400

Documentary context

Documentary family

Conference paper / proceedings

Source-reported types

conference-paper

Jurisdictions studied — explicit sources

UG

Natural entities mentioned

Wetland

Entity mentions are not evidence of legal recognition. Jurisdiction studied is separate from author affiliation country.

Sources

OpenAlex · Record 1 · Record 2

• Document · https://hal.science/hal-02548710
• OpenAlex · https://openalex.org/W3184041400

Documentary status

Relevance pending

Library

This identity is not yet included in the Legal Library.