Resource information
Successful adoption of natural resource management technologies requires thatimportant fundamentals of property rights be established. Because disputes over propertyrights occur universally, the ability to successfully defend one’s rights to property exercises acentral influence on the tenure security necessary for technology adoption. However,defending rights to property rests upon the possession of evidence that is readily available andwidely regarded as legitimate. This paper presents work carried out in postwar Mozambiqueon the availability and legitimacy of evidence pertaining to land tenure dispute resolution.What is unusual about the Mozambique case is that the physical presence of a natural resourcemanagement technology—agroforestry trees in this case—also serves as one of the mostwidely available and legitimate forms of evidence in the postwar period. Such an arrangementreveals important aspects about the reverse relationship between property rights andtechnology adoption. While such an evidence role for a technology may at first appear toencourage further adoption of agroforestry, important influences on property rights in thepostwar setting serve to discourage full adoption and jeopardize the long-term presence ofexisting agroforestry trees. It remains to be seen if recent legislative changes regardingproperty rights will successfully engage customary forms of evidence and encourage fulladoption of agroforestry in Mozambique.
