The New Scramble for the African Countryside

Abstract

There is in Africa, as in other parts of the third world, a desire for environmental management that simultaneously incorporates and benefits all stakeholders, including private businesses and villagers. While these partnerships continue to displace the failed state‐centric management of the African landscape, research to document their local‐level impact is still formative and developing. This article is an attempt to examine the new environmental management partnerships emerging in southern Africa's countryside. It argues that these new interventions not only fail to deliver benefits to villagers: more importantly, they curtail the long‐established rights to land and other natural resources of indigenous communities. While villagers may engage in a battle to recover these rights, it is a struggle in which the odds are stacked against them, and which the private sector and its partners are set to win.

Climate-smart crop production in semi-arid areas through increased knowledge of varieties, environment and management factors

“…The study area falls within the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area, which is one of the 14 Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs) being established in southern Africa (Cumming et al 2007;Spenceley 2008). For those living in the study area, establishment of TFCAs presents a new hazard, because the livelihood options proposed (most importantly ecotourism) are not directly under the control of local people (Dzingirai 2003). One option to improve household food security of local people is to enhance food production.…”

Poverty, poaching and trafficking: what are the links?

“…However, Campfire was increasingly criticised as top down and failing to disburse promised benefits to communities. Equally the global level ivory and rhino horn trade bans under CITES prevented capture of the full value of wildlife (Hulme and Murphree (eds) 2001;Duffy, 2013;Ribot, 2004;Murombedzi, 1999;Dzingirai, 2003;Manjengwa and Anstey (eds) 2009;Murphree, 1995;South and Wyatt, 2011).…”

Discursive biases of the environmental research framework DPSIR

“…In relation to protected areas in Africa, a Traditionalist discourse is produced, first of all by social scientists, political ecologists and advocates of human rights. Within this discourse, specific cases of protected areas are perceived as increasing poverty rather than providing justice and acceptable benefits for local people, and cases are pointed to where local resource use without area preservation is sustainable (Neumann, 1997;Dzingirai, 2003;Benjaminsen et al, 2006).…”