Revisiting musha lands through an ecological landscape approach : the case of Tibneen.

Abstract

The Arabic term musha‘ corresponds to undivided common lands representing particularly grazing lands, agricultural fields, forests and communal ponds that are shared by a community. Some scholars associated the terms to a particular land category, namely collective land ownership, stemming out from mirri land while others linked the term to a system or practice characterized by periodic redistribution of plots. For generations, musha‘ lands in the Middle-East were considered a fundamental source of livelihood for rural communities that are sustainably managed and governed by cultural practices and communal rules and customs. The modernization of land tenure systems was to disrupt these practices. In Lebanon, the modern land registry established under French Mandate didn’t recognize musha‘ as an ownership category. Lands that were classified in earlier surveys as Musha‘ were therefore scattered, some privatized, others left for a later survey. Today, the lack of a single custodian, bureaucratic legislative differences, and failure of the legal planning framework to recognize the specificity of rural landscapes in Lebanon have undermined this important socio-cultural, economic and ecological asset. It makes it imperative to investigate musha‘ beyond its legal aspect, to emphasize its significance as landscapes that contribute to the collective identity of the place and consolidate the communal sense of belonging. Taking up this challenge, this thesis adopts the ecological landscape approach to propose concepts and strategies that integrate environmental, social, economic, legal and cultural aspects of musha‘ land and promote sustainable development based on community inclusive scenarios. The thesis takes for case study the town of Tibneen (South Lebanon), focusing on the outskirts that include one of the largest areas of musha‘ lands in the region. The thesis adopts an expansive definition of Musha‘ to cover all lands historically considered as shared, includ