Overview, Context

Changes in land use, increase of incidents of conflict

Over the last 25 years the isohyet for 400-millimeter precipitation has moved approximately 40 kilometer southwards in the Sahel. This is partly responsible for the increase in desertification in the east of Mauritania. As a consequence rain fed agriculture is no longer possible in a many places. Local farmers do, however, encouraged by the Government and donors, continue to plant north of this isohyet. This creates conflicts between pastoralists and farmers as well as amongst pastoralists.

Traditional social organization has undergone drastic changes over the last 25 years, as large numbers of the rural population have migrated to urban areas, notably Nouakchott, because of the increasing desertification. At the same time, members of Negro-African ethnic groups from the south have to some extent filled the void, leading to a new ethnic mix in some areas.

The Government program in support of the rural population emphasizes irrigated agriculture, which accordingly receives most funding. Rain fed agriculture ranks a distant second. Livestock has received veterinarian services in the recent past, but otherwise is not considered an important sector in the overall picture.

The rural economy: Livestock, an undervalued asset

The livestock sub-sector does not provide for large-scale employment. This may be one reason why the Government concentrates on supporting irrigated agriculture. At the same time, the population that practice nomadic livestock raising constitutes the core group of Mauritanian society in terms of culture and values.

Whereas the statistical evidence for agricultural production in irrigated agriculture is very precise, it becomes less trustworthy in the case of rain fed agriculture, and is pure estimate when it comes to pastoralism. Therefore, comparisons are difficult to make. However, anecdotic evidence would seem to indicate that the overall value invested in livestock is about double the value of all crops. The economic assessment of the value of nomadic livestock is rendered more difficult by two characteristics of this sub-sector: (1) The extent of the trade in camels, cows, sheep and goats across the international border is unknown, and (2) Herds are sometimes kept for purposes of status only, and not for pecuniary ends.

Traditional knowledge: Under-appreciated in modern legislation

The Mauritania legal system is the result of three distinct sources of law which overlap and also partly contradict each other: (1) The traditional customary rules and regulations, (2) The Sharia Islamic law system (rite Malekite, which is one of the four schools in Islamic law), and (3) The French civil law system. All three sources of law coexist, but neither is professionally implemented. This leads to a general disrespect of legal rules, the judiciary, and the Kadi, and it fosters corruption (judgment shopping).

Mauritania has since 1968 tried to harmonize the civil law and the Islamic legal rules, in the last decade assisted by World Bank funding. So far this has not led to any tangible results.

A credible and effective legal system, which guarantees social peace, and is the foundation of any society, depends on the voluntary adherence of the citizens. The citizens will only respect a legal system that reflects their traditional values. A legal reform, which is needed in Mauritania in view of the fast-changing society from a tribal context towards the modern state, would have to depart from the traditional values that are shared by the majority of society. In order to do so, these values first have to be recognized, defined and evaluated. This work has, so far, not been done. This can only be done with active participation of the population, through articulation of their governance system.

In 2001 Mauritania enacted the "Code Pastoral". The Code was initiated and prepared by GTZ staff working on GIRNEM, the GTZ project that the TFT will collaborate with (see below). It was discussed at length with the local population and Islamic scholars. It is a best practice example for lawmaking in several ways: (1) Its language follows a natural flow, and is immediately understood, and (2) The objectives pursued and the values protected are spelt out in the first paragraphs. The entire law is short and explicitly embodies both traditional and Sharia regulations. A conflict resolution mechanism built into the law provides for the official judiciary only as the third and last resort (the first level is the parties supported by their respective elders, and the second is parties with the local administration acting as mediator). This law was greeted by Parliament with much enthusiasm. It may be considered a model to be used for reforming the older laws pertaining to the environment (for example, land use, forests, and water).

The TFT will facilitate implementation of the Code in its target area, and emulate the drafting methodology for its own work.

Natural resource management, conflicts, and governance

The broader context for natural resource management and conflict management lies with the rule of the state and the quality of governance. The resolution of conflicts is closely linked to development strategies and management of natural resources, and peace and stability are understood to be necessary preconditions for development.

The World Bank's 2000 study "Can Africa claim the 21st Century" establishes four broad pillars of support to Africa's development, one of which is reducing conflict and improving governance. Reduction of conflicts is especially targeted in the TFT. Whether on the local or the national level, conflicts in Africa represent a serious problem (about 2 percent of per capita GDP are lost annually due to conflicts, according to World Bank data). The other pillars, which also are being targeted to one extent or another, are: investing in people, increasing economic competitiveness and diversification, and improving aid effectiveness while reducing aid dependencies.

Due to the vanishing respect for traditional values in Mauritania, together with the diminishing authority of the tribal hierarchic structure, destructive environmental behavior increases, which the non-existing modern legal institutions cannot curtail or keep in check. Due to the possibility for "forum shopping" (meaning a choice between the three legal systems), the rich and powerful regularly take advantages over the poor, which is contrary to the spirit of the law. It is therefore not surprising that the ultimate benefit of an efficient judiciary, namely the satisfaction of the warring parties to have been treated in equity and in accordance with standards they accept, is not achieved.

The technological challenge

In order for such a program of documenting, utilizing traditional land use knowledge, and making it available, to be effective, new technology will have to be utilized. Towards this, land use rights will be made available in graphical form both on paper and in digital form, the latter to be based on GIS. Both forms of graphical representation are intended to support the adherence of the local population to the identified land use patterns, which will be established based on information they themselves provide.

Mastering the modern technology necessary for continuous follow-up will need focused and special training of selected members of the local communities. The perceived affinity of the local people in the area where the TFT will operate to modern Information and Communication Technology (ICT), as witnessed by the boom of expansion of cellular telephones and Internet services in Mauritania, will assist in achieving results.

Land management and poverty reduction

The documentation of traditional land use practices and patterns, and its graphical representation, is aimed at reinforcing the adherence to these rights. They will be recorded in the local vernacular languages and translated into French. The respect of these rights by the local and the central administration will be secured by the TFT and the projects with which it collaborates (see below). The transparency of the governing land use rights in the identified area, and the adherence of the local population and the administration to these rules, is expected to contribute to limiting the amount of conflicts, and to increased success in mediating conflicts.

Relevant past and present interventions

The World Bank has been involved in the pastoralism sector in Mauritania since the late 1980s. The projects include the First and the Second Livestock Projects (Credit 0687 and Credit 1658), and the Rainfed Natural Resource Management Project (RNRMP/PGRMP, Credit 2965). The RNRMP/PGRMP will close in March 2003, and a follow-on project, the Community-Based Rural Development Project (CBRDP/PDRC), is under preparation.

The GTZ has been active in the rural sector in eastern Mauritania (the two Hodhs, where the TFT will operate), since many years. The relevant GTZ projects are: Gestion Integral de Resource Naturelle En Mauritanie (GIRNEM), and Projet Synergie CBD/CDD (which is located in Nouakchott).

The accumulated experience of these projects constitutes an essential knowledge base for the TFT. This is particularly true because both donors designed their projects specifically to be holistic and community-driven, in order to take the cultural, social, and economic realities of the selected area into consideration before selecting specific interventions. It is possible, however, that in the process of operationalizing this approach the focus has shifted to individual investments, and that the holistic aspect of natural resource management (NRM) has been pushed in the background. The TFT will take up the initial project concepts of both these donors in its chosen area of operation in order to complement their findings.

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