Lack of Boundary Lines The failure to establish boundary lines has fed the problem of widespread illegal land sales. There are two types of boundary lines related to rural land in Côte d’Ivoire: first, the boundaries that demarcate each village, including its forests and campements; and second, the boundaries of an individual property owner. The financial responsibility for demarcating the boundaries between villages rests with the Ivorian government, whereas landowners are responsible for paying the costs and fees associated with establishing their individual property lines. The Agriculture Ministry, including its Office of Rural Land and the Rural Land Registry (Direction du Foncier Rural et du Cadastre Rural), plays a critical role in overseeing the field investigations to identify and demarcate boundaries and in maintaining the land registry.256 There was widespread agreement from village leaders, victims of land dispossession, and even local government officials that illegal land sales—and the conflicts that result from such sales—would decrease significantly if the Ivorian government were to undertake the long-promised task of establishing boundary lines between villages. The failure to demarcate village boundary lines long predates the Ouattara government. Other than around 100 villages that were part of a World Bank-financed pilot project from 19982001257—all in regions outside the area examined for this report—village boundaries essentially do not exist in Côte d’Ivoire. This has facilitated fraudulent sales, including those that occurred while people were displaced. A village elder from Médibly described: People from Diboké and Kéibly have sold our land, and it works both ways, [Médibly residents have done the same thing]…. I’ve said this many times to the local authorities, the government has to start demarcating village boundaries. We’ve been demanding this for 10, 15 years. The government says, “We’re coming, we’re coming,” but they never come…. Every village 256 See Ministère de l’Agriculture, “Foncier Rural,” undated, http://www.agriculture.gouv.ci/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=124&Itemid=404 (accessed September 3, 2013). 257 World Bank, Report No: ICR00001525: Implementation Completion and Results Report (IDA-N0220), February 8, 2011, http://www- wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2011/03/30/000333038_20110330000052/Rendered/PDF/ICR15 250P001191e0only1910BOX358324B.pdf (accessed August 29, 2013). “THAT LAND IS MY FAMILY’S WEALTH” 84