The Role of Institutions in Land Administration and Its Implications for Local Development: Case Study in the Nkambe Plateau, Northwest Cameroon

Abstract

With the growing diversification in land uses, land administration faces numerous challenges in the Nkambe Plateau. Moreover, as a result of population growth, land scarcity, land cover change and competition between farmers for suitable arable farmland and grazing land, the ineffective implementation of land statutes impedes local development in the Nkambe Plateau. The early migratory movement and resettlement of communities in the Nkambe Plateau, globalization, liberalization and climate change are the key factors that drive ineffective implementation of land statutes. The main aim of this study is to investigate challenges faced by institutions in land administration and implications on local development in the Nkambe Plateau, Northwest Cameroon. The study was based on a survey conducted among 200 participants using stratified random sampling technique. Data is analysed qualitatively and the findings suggest that proper land administration and development in Nkambe Plateau cannot be separated. Furthermore, the study holds that, the way forward in proper land administration is for the Government and its development partners to seek means by which the relevant aspects of land administration of the indigenous traditional institutions can be synthesised with those of the administrative institutions in order to harness their potentials. This is because any state intervention in proper land administration which is not firmly rooted in the people’s culture will not be sustainable. Thus, involving indigenous traditional institutions in the process of land administration offer greater prospects for social cohesion and sustainable development.