The Logic of Land Encroachment in Lofa County

Despite resettlement of IDPs and refugees since 2003, pre-war mechanisms to arbitrate disputes over land remain absent in today's Liberia. Although traditional authorities have reasserted their previous roles, their legitimacy has greatly diminished, creating a growing void in the justice sector that is filled by the state only at a slow pace. The result is increasing "confusion" between various claimants of land, which is said to be exploited by some who de facto occupy some land, perpetuating the cycle of unresolved land uncertainty within land tenure.