Land governance in Northern Ghana: Creating communities of practice between tribal leaders and the government

Land is of primary importance to rural people whose livelihoods are in one way or another linked to the property where they live and work. This is especially true in the rural region of the Upper East Region of Northern Ghana. However, developments such as de-agrarianization, establishment of protected land areas, urbanization, migration, land reform, resettlement and re-peasantization have dramatically changed lands and land use in rural communities. These changes have impacted not only rural communities’ sources of income and employment, but also their overall access to land and thus their livelihoods and future ability to care for themselves. In addition, these developments have impacted family relationships, culture and the peace of the people which are the building blocks of rural community living. The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual description of how land access, under the traditional system, can be reconciled with statutory law by communities of practice. Beyond just being a knowledge management tool that is employed for co-creating new compounds of shared knowledge, communities of practice can be used as standing committees that tie solid bonds within stakeholder groups and establish commonly accepted solutions to all problems related to a conflict-laden issue. In describing how this can be used to effectively merge the traditional with legislative land use policy, the paper provides an overview of the detrimental impact of land conflicts, the presence of dubious and unscrupulous land deals and of the role of women in these issues. It further discusses which specific provisions in Ghanaian law should prove to be effective. Yet, as the paper points out, central to the success of balancing the old with the new will be the continuation of the varied tasks performed by the traditional custodians of land, the “tindemba” (Earth priests are collectively called Tindaama/Tindaaba/ Tindaaduuma by the Gurure speaking people of Upper East Region, Tindemba by the Dagbani speaking speaking people of Northern Region and Tindaaba/Tendamba by the Gagaare speaking people of Upper West Region), who historically have always been involved in land transfers within the villages, as well as the important role which traditional leaders (tribal chiefs) need to play in land issues. The paper will demonstrate how communities of practices can be used to not only merge the old with the new, but also incorporate new policies that produce a more equitable structure in rural communities.