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Geomatics Engineering

ENGO 455
Land Tenure and Cadastral Systems Winter 2010

Assignment 1: Essay on Land Tenure and Conflict


This essay is worth 7.5% of your term mark. Your essay should be 2,500 ± 250
words, single spaced, using 12 pt Times New Roman (or similar) fonts. Ensure
that you include maps and other relevant graphics in your report. See “Writing
Tips” in the Assignment 1 folder on Blackboard for help with writing your paper.
Historically, under the legal framework of feudalism, and latter English
Common Law principles, Tenure has referred to the relationship between
Landlord and Tennant (Hinde & McMorland, 1986, p. 10; Ziff, 2006, p. 54)1. In
more contemporary times Land Tenure has come to mean the “holding of land”
in which the tenant may well be the land owner (Baker, 2002).
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has defined
Land tenure as “the relationship, whether legally or customarily defined, among
people, as individuals or groups, with respect to land” (Munro-Faure, et al.,
2002). Given these contexts, Land tenure can be viewed as the result of society
attempting to regulate access to land. The rules that a society imposes typically
regulate who has access to land, for how long, and under what conditions. As
such Land Tenure can be viewed as an important linkage that ties together the
social, political and economic fabric of a society.
There are many examples around the world where aboriginal societies, the
poor, and the politically enslaved have found themselves in land tenure related
conflict situations. Alternatively, you may wish to investigate approaches that
give recognition of land rights and / or ownership of land to the same groups of
people. Most colonized countries have either addressed land tenure issues to
some degree or are in the process of doing so.
Write a critical essay on a conflict or claims approach that you have
identified as an important Land Tenure issue. Narrow your focus on some aspect
of your topic to allow you to treat it in some depth.
 First, decide why you believe it is an important issue.
 Generate an outline for your paper and present evidence to support your view.
 Research. This means researching a number of Land-tenure-related texts, as
well as journal articles available to you online or through the Library. All
sources must be properly referenced as per guidelines available through the
library webpage (Effective Writing Program), and as previously specified in
the Writing Tips found on Blackboard.
 Explore the factors that have contributed to shaping this issue along the
following themes:
 Political;
 Cultural/social; and
 Economic.
You may consider the groups relationship to the land; the value of land to the
1
See Ontario (Attorney General) v Mercer, 1883 CarswellOnt 5 (Privy Council Canada, Jul 18, 1883) for further
clarification

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Geomatics Engineering
ENGO 455 Land Tenure and Cadastral Systems Winter 2010

group with respect to (food) security, poverty alleviation, protection of natural


resources, etc. Identify which factors you deem to be most significant and
explain why. Are there opposing points of view? If so, how were they managed?
What are the implications of approaches that have been employed to address
conflict or the allocation of land rights?
Topical examples include the Israel Palestine conflict, and the loss of
indigenous lands around the world due to industrial development, e.g., the Mursi
and Nyangatom regions of Ethiopia and the Omo River Valley dam, or the loss of
pastoral (ancestoral) lands in the name of development, national security, wildlife
conservation or environmental protection in Kenya, or the Free Trade Agreement
between the US and Peru which has reduced the majority (from 2/3 to 1/2)
required to force a tribe to sell its land. More locally you may wish to investigate
the various First Nations claims to land, particularly in British Columbia.
Class Discussion Question
What will be the role of the cadastre, if any, in addressing the issues arising in the
particular case that you have chosen to write about?
Due Date: February 8, 2010 at 12:00pm (Noon) on Blackboard

References
Baker, J. (2002). An Introduction to English Legal History (4 ed.). London:
Butterworths.
Hinde, G. W., & McMorland, D. W. (1986). Introduction to Land Law (2 ed.).
Wellington: Butterworth.
Munro-Faure, P., Groppo, P., Hererra, A., Lindsay, J., Mathieu, P., & Palmer, D.
(2002). Land Tenure and Rural Development. Rome: Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Ziff, B. (2006). Principles of Property Law (4 ed.). Toronto: Thomson Carswell.

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