From collective to individual: The dynamics of land management in Gouin region (Southwestern Burkina Faso)

In Southwestern Burkina Faso the pressure on land is becoming stronger, especially in Gouin region in the department of Niangoloko. Indeed, the population growth consequent to the influx of migrants from other parts of the country and the Ivory Coast in recent years results in a fast increase in space occupancy, compromising thus the generosity of the indigenous people. In this new area of agricultural colonization, land adjustments allow fewer modes of access to land than the traditional custom. Indeed, land transactions and their regulation mechanisms have changed profoundly, passing from traditional and symbolic forms (grant, loan) to monetised forms (sale and rental). Moreover, from traditional and religious regulation forms the land system moved to a more liberal regulation dominated by the introduction of documents (sales receipts) established by new forms of authority.