Clusa-natural resource management

TRADITIONAL LAND AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION:

Traditional land, which is outside the forest boundary and covers 96% of the land in Eastern Province, may be occupied according to customary law without a formal right assigned to the land. Such land is controlled by the traditional chief, in this case Chief Mbangombe, whose palace is not far from Katete. (The Paramount Chief of the Chewa tribe, Yawa Undi, has a village just to the south of the forest. Chief Mbangombe is just below Undi in rank, a senior chief.) Individuals can request certificates of title to land, but if the Senior Chief perceives that granting a title will affect his popularity, it will most likely not be accepted. The Chief has a traditional council which advises on governance and other issues affecting the chiefdom.
The Senior Chief’s Village Headmen are his representatives who are authorized to allocate land locally, resolve disputes, and preside over traditional ceremonies. They also have power to grant permission to cut a tree around the village, where normally this act is forbidden and even punished because such trees are supposed to control wind and water erosion. It is taboo to cut trees and collect mushrooms and fruits from a graveyard.
When local villagers are locked up in a dispute, they begin at the lowest level, the Village Headmen, to attempt to resolve it. If this fails, they take it to a local traditional court called Khonde. Again if it fails they go to the Senior Chief’s Palace, and ultimately to the Paramount Chief for ruling. Beyond this, the conflict goes to the government court of law.