Characterising collective tenure security in pastoral systems in Burkina Faso

Climate change has intensified pressures on grazing in Burkina Faso, with shifting rainfall patterns, shorter rainy seasons, and prolonged dry spells reducing pasture availability. Expansion of cropping, particularly cotton, has further constrained access to land and water for pastoralists.

This report examines pastoral land tenure and governance through the case of Tigre village in Binde commune, Zoundweogo Province. The Wakilé Allah pastoralists, who migrated south in the 1970s and1980s due to northern droughts, now coexist with agro-pastoralists in a region once depopulated by river blindness.

Field interviews and literature review reveal that grazing land, though privately owned, is managed under collective customary rights consistent with the national Land and Rural Orientation Plan (LORP). While widely accepted, tenure security is undermined by agricultural encroachment, weak enforcement, and declining social cohesion. Strengthening pastoral tenure requires legal recognition of customary systems, registration of grazing lands, and locally negotiated charters to balance tradition and protection.