UDTR — Radar mondial des droits de la Nature

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

Identification

Clé publique

openalex:w3184041400

Auteurs

Claire Médard · Valérie Golaz

Année déclarée

2019

Langue déclarée

en

Type source

conference-paper

Première détection

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

Dernière observation des métadonnées

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

Dernière vérification HTTP

Non effectuée

Institutions déclarées par la source

Institut national d'études démographiques

Résumé documentaire — langue originale

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.

Identifiants

OPENALEX

W3184041400

Repères documentaires

Famille documentaire

Communication / colloque

Types déclarés par les sources

conference-paper

Juridictions étudiées — sources explicites

UG

Entités naturelles mentionnées

Zone humide

Les mentions d’entités ne constituent pas une preuve de reconnaissance juridique. La juridiction étudiée est distincte du pays d’affiliation des auteurs.

Sources

OpenAlex · Document 1 · Document 2

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

Statut documentaire

Pertinence à examiner

Bibliothèque

Cette identité n’est pas encore intégrée à la Bibliothèque juridique.