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No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1980.

Countries in the developing world, in attempts to promote investment in land and agricultural productivity, and to establish frameworks for economic development, have regularly embarked on extensive tenure reforms designed to replace customary forms of tenure with private individual forms. In the Kenya rangelands, the Group Ranch system: a hybrid tenure system that allows communal ownership and use of titled land, was created and implemented in the rangelands where private tenure was thought to be unsuitable. This thesis discusses the failure of the Group Ranch system in Kajiado District, and the parallel transformation of Maasai communal lands into private, individual holdings, which has eroded land security, facilitated land loss to non-residents, created local socio-economic disparities, and made difficult the sustainable practice of pastoral livelihoods. From this discussion it is suggested that communal tenure systems may be useful in preventing and addressing land and resource related problems, and that tailoring land policies and tenure reforms to clarify and strengthen customary systems can play a significant role in promoting land conservation and productivity in the African rangelands and enhance security for the people that depend on them.

Population growth and internal migration in parts of the developing world have led to increased conflict over land rights carried out in the context of competing tenure paradigms. In Kenya, violent conflict between 'indigenous' and 'outsider' communities occurring in the midst of a program of democratic liberalization and political change has been variously explained as primarily driven by material or political interests. This thesis examines land rights conflict in the wake of a violent clash at Enoosupukia in 1993, which led to the displacement of up to 30,000 people, and analyzes how changing tenure paradigms, shifting socio-spatial boundaries, ethno-political polarization, and pressure on land resources all contribute to the perpetuation of conflict and tenure uncertainty. I argue that, despite challenging civil precepts of liberal governance, assertion of exclusive ethnic rights to traditional territories may nevertheless lead to political justice and alleviate the marginalization of indigenous and minority groups.

No description available.