Communal land is a (mostly rural) territory in possession of a community, rather than an individual or company.

Zimbabwe

The term communal land in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

 refers to certain rural areas within Zimbabwe. Communal lands were formerly called Tribal Trust Lands (TTL's). Subsistence farming and small scale commercial farming are the principal economic activities in communal lands, there is usually limited additional employment apart from in a Growth point

Growth point

A Growth Point is a rural village or small town in Zimbabwe. The term is applied by the Zimbabwe Government for certain designated villages or small towns. Growth Points are almost always located in a communal land , and usually there is only one Growth Point per communal land...

 and with jobs like teaching. Some communal lands have high population densities, and as a consequence overgrazing

Overgrazing

Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, or by overpopulations of native or non-native wild animals.Overgrazing reduces the...

 by cattle and goats and soil erosion can occur. The farms of communal lands are traditionally unfenced. Communal lands have resident traditional African Chiefs

Tribal chief

A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...

. Many communal lands are at a lower elevation

Elevation

The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....

 than the richer commercial farms, and consequently experience higher average temperatures, and lower rainfall levels. Since independence, in communal lands, schools have been established and expanded, roads tarred, and electrification

Electrification

Electrification originally referred to the build out of the electrical generating and distribution systems which occurred in the United States, England and other countries from the mid 1880's until around 1940 and is in progress in developing countries. This also included the change over from line...

 has spread. In recent years though, this development

Community development

Community development is a broad term applied to the practices and academic disciplines of civic leaders, activists, involved citizens and professionals to improve various aspects of local communities....

 has slowed.

Mexico

In Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 communal land is known as the ejido

Ejido

The ejido system is a process whereby the government promotes the use of communal land shared by the people of the community. This use of community land was a common practice during the time of Aztec rule in Mexico...

. (see also the Chiapas conflict)