Abstract
Based on the 1995 Land Act of Zambia, land market reforms have impacted the communal tenure of customary land and people’s livelihoods in many ways. In particular, the Land Act strengthened the role and power over the people of the traditional authorities, especially chiefs, in land administration. Customary land administration changed in three points under the new Land Act in Zambia. (1) The new Land Act positively stimulated the market economic mechanism of the customary land in Zambia. Allocation of the customary land threatened the residents’ livelihoods and quality of life. Under the new Land Act, outside investors and local elites could obtain land ownership from the traditional authorities. (2) The new Land Act strengthened the role and power of the chiefs in administration and jurisdiction. Chiefs can get the power to allocate the land to people including the outside investors. (3) Local administration strongly depends on the character of the chief. This has led the local conflicts over land and land allocation, which threatened the living standards of the people. At the same time, a new chief can change the administration drastically and improve the situation upon the death of a predecessor.
