Adapting land administration to the institutional framework of customary tenure: The case of peri-urban Ghana

Research programme Governance of Geo-information and Land DevelopmentOTB Research Institute for the Built Environmen

MODELLING PARTICIPATORY GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR CUSTOMARY LAND CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Since land contributes to about 73 % of most countries Gross Domestic Product (GDP), attention on land rights have tremendously increased globally. Conflicts over land have therefore become part of the major problems associated with land administration. However, the conventional mechanisms for land conflict resolution do not provide satisfactory result to disputants due to various factors. This study sought to develop a Framework of using Participatory Geographic Information System (PGIS) for customary land conflict resolution. The framework was modelled using Unified Modelling Language (UML). The PGIS framework, called butterfly model, consists of three units namely, Social Unit (SU), Technical Unit (TU) and Decision Making Unit (DMU). The name butterfly model for land conflict resolution was adopted for the framework based on its features and properties. The framework has therefore been recommended to be adopted for land conflict resolution in customary areas

MODELLING PARTICIPATORY GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR CUSTOMARY LAND CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Since land contributes to about 73 % of most countries Gross Domestic Product (GDP), attention on land rights have tremendously increased globally. Conflicts over land have therefore become part of the major problems associated with land administration. However, the conventional mechanisms for land conflict resolution do not provide satisfactory result to disputants due to various factors. This study sought to develop a Framework of using Participatory Geographic Information System (PGIS) for customary land conflict resolution. The framework was modelled using Unified Modelling Language (UML). The PGIS framework, called butterfly model, consists of three units namely, Social Unit (SU), Technical Unit (TU) and Decision Making Unit (DMU). The name butterfly model for land conflict resolution was adopted for the framework based on its features and properties. The framework has therefore been recommended to be adopted for land conflict resolution in customary areas

Customary land tenure dynamics at peri-urban Ghana: Implications for land administration system modeling

Customary land tenure is criticized as dynamic with the institutional framework unable to provide enough tenure security at all times. It is also criticized as ineffective to cope with the trends in land tenure delivery at peri-urban areas where individualization of land and demand for land is high. The aim of this paper is to investigate how customary land tenure systems of Ghana meet the dynamic need of the modern life in peri-urban areas. The study used a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods including general and in-depth interviews, oral narrations, focus group discussions and questionnaires to collect and analyze data from stakeholders in three peri-urban areas of the three land owning groups in Ghana. The study shows that the institutional framework is resilient with the customary land tenure institutions maintaining their traditional power to allocate land and resolve land conflicts. The findings from the study have implications for land administration in peri-urban areas. Cadastres in these areas do not reflect the situation on the ground. The paper concludes that although dynamics of customary land tenure presents many challenges to the existing land administration system, it also has positive implications which provide framework for designing an alternative land administration system that can cope with the dynamics of customary land tenure.OTB Research Institut

Comparing Spatial Accessibility and Travel Time Prediction to Commercial Centres by Private and Public Transport: A Case Study of Oforikrom District

The relevance of accessibility in shaping transport planning has often been neglected, hampering on decisions to improve transport efficiency. This is increasingly becoming problematic, as they often impede on economic and technological developments. Many studies on accessibility assert that it is easier for public transport to reach an activity centre than it is for private transport. For this reason, the research compares travel time forecast and accessibility levels with private and public transports en route to commercial centres. The research involves a 21-day transport survey for private cars and public shuttles in Oforikrom district using Global Positioning System (GPS) probe to record the traffic performance indicators to be analyzed in a GIS environment. The results of the study display on a map the level of accessibility via the modes, and a comparative line plot of travel time with private and public transport. The study reveals that private cars in the district generally perform better than public shuttles on the level of accessibility, and travel time. The execution of the research shows that the convergence of choice of transport mode and travel time dynamics is crucial for policymakers to implement diverse transport modes and commuters to choose a mode that has low accessibility cost

A STAT6 Intronic Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism is Associated with Clinical Malaria in Ghanaian Children

Malaria pathogenesis may be influenced by IgE responses and cytokine cross-regulation. Several mutations in the IL-4/STAT6 signaling pathway can alter cytokine cross-regulation and IgE responses during a Plasmodium falciparum malarial infection. This study investigated the relationship between a STAT6 intronic single-nucleotide polymorphism (rs3024974), total IgE, cytokines, and malaria severity in 238 Ghanaian children aged between 0.5 and 13 years. Total IgE and cytokine levels were measured by ELISA, while genotyping was done by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Compared with healthy controls, heterozygosity protected against clinical malaria: uncomplicated malaria (odds ratios [OR] = 0.13, P < 0.001), severe malarial anemia (OR = 0.18, P < 0.001), and cerebral malaria (OR = 0.39, P = 0.022). Levels of total IgE significantly differed among malaria phenotypes (P = 0.044) and rs3024974 genotypes (P = 0.037). Neither cytokine levels nor IL-6/IL-10 ratios were associated with malaria phenotypes or rs3024974 genotypes. This study suggests a role for rs3024974 in malaria pathogenesis and offers further insights into an IL-4/STAT6 pathway mutation in malaria pathogenesis