Managing the commons: Is the community land act a solution to resource management in the Asals of Kenya?

Land is critical for the socio-economic development of many developing countries that depend on land and natural resources found on land. The clarity of tenure structures on how individuals own, control and access land define how such land will be used and its’ benefits to the citizenry. In Kenya, land has traditionally been adjudicated and registered as private property to individual’s with issuance of land titles as legal proof of ownership in most of the agricultural high potential and medium potential areas of the country. However, in areas considered as Arid and Semi-Arid Lands [ASALs], land has been held as communal land under customary laws. Given the multiplicity of claims on these lands and the resultant conflicts, government as part of land sector reforms enacted the community land act in 2016, to recognize and protect the rights of registered communities who were living in these lands. This move has implications on management of resources in these areas that are dominantly under pastoral livelihood system and where mobility and flexibility are central to the sustenance of such livelihood. This paper argues that the enactment of the Act poses many challenges including the role it assigns to county governments and the Land Management Committee of each community who are expected to manage and enter into any partnerships with investors or other stakeholders on behalf of the community. The element of exclusivity that the Act introduces may constrain access to these resources and introduce elements of competition among the community members who may be allocated land over a short period of time and want to maximize their returns within a specific period of time. Individualization and maximization efforts within the specific community land where mobility is restricted may result in the traditional tragedy of the commons scenario. There is need to have mechanisms of ensuring attention is given to equity issues within the communities, including intergenerational equity where long-term agreements with partners involving the community land and its resources as well as empowering and capacity building the LMC’s tap into emerging resources such as carbon credits.