Abstract

Cameroon’s land governance is marked by deep institutional fragmentation: an estimated 85-90% of national territory remains under customary tenure, exposing land to overlapping statutory claims and widespread insecurity. This study examines how jurisdictional fragmentation among central agencies (the Ministry of State Property and Land Tenure (MINDCAF)), decentralized councils (374 decentralized communes), and traditional authorities undermines urban land regulation and fuels the expansion of informal settlements, now housing 47-60% of urban residents without secure tenure or basic services. Using a mixed-methods design anchored in the Hauts-Plateaux “natural experiment” created by the 1992 administrative partition of Mifi Division, the study integrates 382 stratified household surveys, 40 elite and community interviews, Landsat-based land-use/land-cover analysis (1987-2024; 82-88% accuracy), and comparative cases from Bafoussam, Douala, and Yaoundé. Multivariate logistic models and interrupted time-series analyses show that proximity to Divisional capitals significantly accelerated peri-urban expansion from 5-15% built-up in 1987 to 42-55% in 2024 producing built-up-to-population ratios below 1.0, a clear indicator of regulatory-deficient densification (p<0.01).

Institutional voids sustain widespread informality: approximately 80% of peri-urban land transactions occur outside statutory frameworks (72% via chiefs, 18% via brokers), generating nearly 70% of urban land disputes. Spatial analysis further reveals 15,800 hectares of wetland loss, intensifying flood exposure for 35-40% of residents. Fragmentation thus transforms decentralization into a mechanism of speculative sprawl in the absence of coordinated governance. The emerging FAO-supported national land policy platform (2025) offers reform potential, contingent on reconciling hybrid tenure systems, establishing interoperable digital cadastral systems, and strengthening local land commissions with inclusive representation. Overall, the study provides causal evidence linking Divisional fragmentation to informality trajectories and contributes policy-relevant insights for managing rapid urbanization in hybrid governance contexts.

Keywords:Jurisdictional fragmentation; Peri-urban expansion; Customary tenure; Institutional voids; Administrative territoriality; Decentralization; Hybrid tenure systems; Elite capture