We examine whether Stephen Sandford's (2006b) 'too many people, too few livestock' thesis for the Greater Horn of Africa applies to West Africa. In a comparative study of seven pastoral systems across West Africa we found that pastoralists have generally successfully adapted to pressures on grazing resources. We describe three adaptive strategies: 1) integration and intensification in the Sudanian zone; 2) movement to the Sub-Humid zone; and 3) extensification in the Sahelian zone. We end by proposing four interrelated factors that account for the differences in pastoral systems between West Africa and the Greater Horn of Africa.

BackgroundWe test whether traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) about how to make an item predicts a person’s skill at making it among the Tsimane’ (Bolivia). The rationale for this research is that the failure to distinguish between knowledge and skill might account for some of the conflicting results about the relationships between TEK, human health, and economic development.MethodsWe test the association between a commonly-used measure of individual knowledge (cultural consensus analysis) about how to make an arrow or a bag and a measure of individual skill at making these items, using ordinary least-squares regression. The study consists of 43 participants from 3 villages.ResultsWe find no association between our measures of knowledge and skill (core model, p > 0.5, R 2  = .132).ConclusionsWhile we cannot rule out the possibility of a real association between these phenomena, we interpret our findings as support for the claim that researchers should distinguish between methods to measure knowledge and skill when studying trends in TEK.

The Bocas del Toro archipelago on the Caribbean side of Panama has seen the rise of tourism as the dominant and almost exclusive industry since the early 1990s. The archipelago has been in the national limelight since 2000 due to the abundance of land conflicts sparked by “residential tourism,” resort development and subsequent land speculation. In response, the Panamanian government has attempted to evolve a regulatory system that fosters economic growth through foreign investment in the region while also appeasing and controlling citizen, expatriate retiree, and investor angst due to the burgeoning conflicts. This article examines the motivations behind the regulatory mechanisms enacted, as well as the motivations of various actors involved by identifying various loci of greed that anchor the accusations of greed to particular social actors. In the process, it examines the discourses used by these actors to interpret, ignore, or modify the regulatory framework within the context of the land conflicts in order to serve their interests. I suggest that it is necessary to operationalize the concept of greed to allow for systematic cross‐cultural comparisons. Studying narratives of greed and the associated social actors helps us understand how greed is emically defined and allows us to move past subjective moral judgments.