False forest history, complicit social analysis: Rethinking some West African environmental narratives

Fairhead, James; Leach, Melissa

doi:10.1016/0305-750x(95)00026-9

Cited by 252 publications

(153 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Contrary to the general perception that forests had declined under growing populations, they showed that forests had expanded not contracted during the twentieth century. For example, Ziama forest reserve in Guinea, a large forest patch set aside for conservation and a world Heritage site, had been a savanna according to accounts from the nineteenth century [27]! With increasing availability of satellite imagery, studies of deforestation, reforestation and afforestation [58] in Africa are …”

Section: The Antiquity Of Savannasmentioning

confidence: 99%

The deforestation story: testing for anthropogenic origins of Africa's flammable grassy biomes

Bond

Zaloumis

2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Africa has the most extensive C4 grassy biomes of any continent. They are highly flammable accounting for greater than 70% of the world's burnt area. Much of Africa's savannas and grasslands occur in climates warm enough and wet enough to support closed forests. The combination of open grassy systems and the frequent fires they support have long been interpreted as anthropogenic artefacts caused by humans igniting frequent fires. True grasslands, it was believed, would be restricted to climates too dry or too cold to support closed woody vegetation. The idea that higher-rainfall savannas are anthropogenic and that fires are of human origin has led to initiatives to 'reforest' Africa's open grassy systems paid for by carbon credits under the assumption that the net effect of converting these system to forests would sequester carbon, reduce greenhouse gases and mitigate global warming. This paper reviews evidence for the antiquity of African grassy ecosystems and for the fires that they sustain. Africa's grassy biomes and the fires that maintain them are ancient and there is no support for the idea that humans caused large-scale deforestation. Indicators of old-growth grasslands are described. These can help distinguish secondary grasslands suitable for reforestation from ancient grasslands that should not be afforested.This article is part of the themed issue 'The interaction of fire and mankind'.

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Section: The Antiquity Of Savannasmentioning

confidence: 99%

The deforestation story: testing for anthropogenic origins of Africa's flammable grassy biomes

Bond

Zaloumis

2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…If someone narrates the story of his or her life, a truth claim is essential even though parts of the story may be recognized as highly stylized. The same holds for the stories of popularized science, the stories that conservation NGOs and environmental educators tell about nature, the stories about the mysterious workings of 'the economy', the founding myths of the university department, the 'environmental narratives' used to legitimize development projects (Fairhead & Leach 1995) and so on. All these may be distinguished from true fiction.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Storytelling as a medium for balanced dialogue on conservation in Cameroon

Groot

Zwaal

2007

Envir. Conserv.

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SUMMARYIn conservation efforts where genuine community involvement is aimed at, communication should be a two-way affair in which the local voice can be truly heard. In developing countries especially, however, this voice tends to be smothered by the power and prestige that usually lies with the supra-local conservation agencies. This paper explores how fictional storytelling, a communication medium as old as mankind, may enable local people to respond in freedom to the issue of conservation. Stories that end by posing a dilemma to the audience are generally used in Cameroon to initiate discussion. First trials in Cameroon used this format to tell a story of animals that found themselves at risk of extinction and sent out a delegation to the human world to plea for a 'last home'. Although enjoyed by researchers and audience alike, this story appeared to suffer from several technical and structural shortcomings. In order to overcome these, empirical research (for example the gathering of some 600 stories in the field) and theoretical considerations led to the design of a second-generation story that retained the dilemma format but carried fewer implicit messages and introduced a third, adjudicating party. This story was tried out in 13 villages in Central and North Cameroon with full success, both in terms of process (the elicitation of focused and rich debate) and in terms of content (the clarity of arguments and underlying assumptions). If led by the principles developed in this paper, fictional storytelling is a worthy addition to the methodological repertoire of all conservation professionals who wish to communicate conservation to local communities in a manner that is structurally balanced and substantively open.

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“…Other scholars have used historical data to question forest conservation orthodoxies which have failed to recognise the important roles played by local custodians and the extent to which they have been influential in managing and/or enriching agricultural landscapes (Fairhead and Leach, 1995;. The use of archival information can complement 'memory and land management practices of current land users…to help understand past land use' (Fairhead and Leach, 2001: 12).…”

Section: Moving Beyond Deforestation Mythsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond Territory and Scarcity: Exploring Conflicts over Natural Resource Management

Binningsbø¹

2006

Journal of Peace Research

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False forest history, complicit social analysis: Rethinking some West African environmental narratives

Cited by 252 publications

References 8 publications

The deforestation story: testing for anthropogenic origins of Africa's flammable grassy biomes

The deforestation story: testing for anthropogenic origins of Africa's flammable grassy biomes

Storytelling as a medium for balanced dialogue on conservation in Cameroon

Beyond Territory and Scarcity: Exploring Conflicts over Natural Resource Management

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