Private versus communal tenure systems in gum Arabic collection

Abstract

Communal management systems for acacia stands are still prominent in semi-arid gum producing areas. Competition over plots leads to lower quantities per household and, compared with private access systems, the gum collected is of lower quality. These communal systems also decrease the collectors’ incentives for tree management, may lead to overexploitation and even be sources of conflict over resources. Private systems are emerging either at individual level or through companies; in a gradual transition, mixed systems are found in which privately owned properties and communal forests coexist in villages where gum is collected in the Sylvopastoral Zone and Eastern Region of Senegal. This study investigates factors that influence the currently observed transition from communal to private collection systems at village level, briefly focusing on gender relations. With data from 53 villages in Senegal, a probit model is used to analyse the choice of organizing collection in communal systems. Mixed systems are preferred if markets are developing, labour for collection is available, competition for the resource is high, forests where gum is collected are located near the village or market prices are high enough to attract occasional collectors who reinforce the effect of competition.