Resiliency and change in common property regimes in West Africa: The case of theTongoin the Gambia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone

Abstract

West African rural communities frequently create rules and conventions to define rights of access and conditions of use to natural resources of great use and exchange value. One such example, the tongo, is an oscillating common property regime that regulates seasonal access to vegetation and wildlife located within village commons and on individually appropriated lands in many areas of The Gambia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. This ensures that a particular resource, such as fruits from domesticated and wild trees or grasses used for thatch, reach full maturity before being harvested by the community at large. While it often is concluded that these institutional arrangements are declining, this article adopts a historical perspective in showing that these regimes are much more resilient and flexible than commonly assumed. The authors suggest that the tongo is a foundation for working with African indigenous knowledge and institutions to develop an alternative, yet distinctly African, approach to resource conservation.