‘Logic of Gradation’ and ‘Logic of Scission’: Forest Ownership in the Wamba Region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Abstract

This paper analyzes land ownership in the Wamba region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Bongando people in this area have repeatedly moved from one place to another for a long time and, as a result, their sense of land ownership has gradually faded the further away they moved. They consider land ownership as extending around landmark rivers, which are in clusters that form enclaves. Moreover, their lineage structure is nested. Each lineage that owns land conflicts with others on a variety of issues, e.g., land related issues at one level; however, they are allied on other issues at higher levels. In these ways, the Bongando encompass land ownership from a sense of the ‘logic of gradation’. In recent years, however, nature conservation groups have begun defining nature reserves by parceling out the land and delineating certain areas with uniform obligations and rights. This approach, referred to as the ‘logic of scission’, has caused conflicts among the local people and between the people and the conservation groups. In the future, nature conservation activities will require measures involving a ‘logic of gradation’.