Colonial Science and Ecological Change: Tanzania's Mlalo Basin, 1888–1946

Conte, Christopher A.

doi:10.2307/3985304

Cited by 12 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Forest reserves were demarcated and local people prohibited from farming and taking fire-wood as they were used to do. These measures were implemented by force and made local farmers hate the whole idea of soil conservation (Conte, 1999;Johansson, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social and economic factors affecting the adoption of soil and water conservation in West Usambara highlands, Tanzania

2004

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Accelerated soil erosion is one of the major constraints to agricultural production in many parts of the Tanzanian highlands. Although several soil and water conservation technologies have been developed and promoted, the adoption of many recommended measures is minimal and soil erosion continues to be a problem. This research was conducted in order to determine the social and economic factors that influence adoption of soil and water conservation (SWC) measures in the West Usambara highlands, Tanzania. For this research a household survey, group discussions and transect walks were undertaken. A total of 104 households were interviewed and several fields were visited during the transect walks. Data was analysed with the use of cross-tabulation, cluster analysis, factor analysis and chi-squared methods. The results obtained indicate that involvement in off-farm activities, insecure land tenure, location of fields and a lack of short-term benefits from SWC are among the major factors that negatively influence adoption of SWC measures. Membership in farmer groups, level of education, contacts with extension agents and SWC programmes were found to be positively influencing the adoption of SWC measures. Recommendations to facilitate adoption of different SWC measures include: integration of social and economic factors into SWC plans; the creation of more awareness among farmers of soil-erosion effects and long-term benefits of SWC; the development of flexible SWC measures to cater for different farm patterns and a participatory approach to SWC at catchment level rather than at individual farmers' fields.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social and economic factors affecting the adoption of soil and water conservation in West Usambara highlands, Tanzania

2004

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“…In top-down approaches, farmers were considered as recipients of the SWC technologies rather than equal partners in their development and planning (Mowo et al, 2002). Pre-independent governments used cohesive measures to force farmers to implement SWC measures (Conte, 1999a;Johansson, 2001). These made farmers hate the whole idea of soil conservation (Lundgren, 1993;Conte, 1999b;Kiara et al, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Participatory soil and water conservation planning using a financial analysis tool in the West Usambara highlands of Tanzania

2006

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Despite decades of soil and water conservation (SWC) efforts in Tanzania, the adoption of the recommended SWC measures by farmers is minimal. In the past, SWC plans did not incorporate farmers' knowledge, and the economics of SWC was not given much attention at the planning stage. This research evaluated the applicability of two tools for participatory soil erosion mapping using farmers' indicators of soil erosion and financial analysis of SWC measures at the planning stage. The two tools were evaluated in Kwalei catchment in the West Usambara highlands, Tanzania. The participatory soil erosion-mapping tool uses farmers' indicators of soil erosion to identify, classify and map soil erosion at the catchment level. The financial analysis tool involves farmers in a stepwise analysis of the costs and benefits of SWC measures before the implementation. The erosion-mapping tool increased farmers' awareness on the severity of soil erosion problems, and they realised the need for SWC plans at both field and catchment scales. With the financial analysis tool farmers participated in the cost and benefits analysis and were able to select SWC options that were feasible under their socio-economic situation. The two tools were able to demonstrate that farmers' participation in SWC planning increases the acceptance of SWC measures because they solve problems that are perceived by themselves. The financial analysis tool demonstrated how farmers could make selection of SWC measures that are feasible under their biophysical and economic condition if they are informed about the costs and benefits.

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“…Documentation from Southern Africa includes persuasive commentaries on the interplay between imperial, American and local influences. Conservationism's broader African legacy is a demanding compound of persistent ambivalences, hot rejections, impenetrable ambiguities and heroic endeavour which continues to defy succinct description (Conte, 1999; McCann, 1999; Carruthers, 2004). For instance, incremental entanglements were aggravated by official spins on the battle with human and animal diseases – associated deforestation and resettlement programmes brought stark environmental change and deeply resented social deformation.…”

Section: South African Initiativesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Questions remain about colonial context: for instance, apparently early adoptions around Southern Africa, which may simply reflect a weaker contemporary opposition and some noticeably loose applications to white landholders; the role of the Royal Geographical Society in caricaturing a conflict between ‘primitive’ and ‘modern’ methods; and some inexplicable incapacity to differentiate local, regional and temporal dimensions (Anderson, 1984; Conte, 1999). And legislative success may itself be deceptive.…”

Section: South African Initiativesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Empire Meets the New Deal: Interwar Encounters in Conservation and Regional Planning

Powell¹

2005

Geographical Research

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British imperial and American experiences in conservation and planning are providing fresh interdisciplinary challenges for university teaching and research. The Roosevelt administration's ‘New Deal’ included government‐sponsored interventions in soil erosion and water management and sophisticated regional development agendas. Reviewing samples of the latter areas of concern, this article explores the proposition that, although the British Empire was scarcely bereft of comparable interwar programmes and was becoming somewhat preoccupied with centrifugal tendencies, persistent porosity, exhausting struggles with postwar reconstruction, and comprehensive economic depression, New Deal evangelism was in fact variously anticipated, harnessed, challenged and ignored. A discussion of widely separated national and regional examples locates a layered interplay between uneven imperial and US pulsations, independent local manoeuvres, and critical inputs from key individual agents. The most important filters included the presence of comparatively robust bureaucratic infrastructures and the cultivation of international relationships by scientists and technologists. Encounters with convergent revisionism suggest cautionary leads for students, researchers and teachers alike. Reconstructions of selected contexts underline the presence of familiar posturing, opportunism, and astute patriotic deployment during the emergence of modern styles of globalization.

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Colonial Science and Ecological Change: Tanzania's Mlalo Basin, 1888–1946

Cited by 12 publications

References 6 publications

Social and economic factors affecting the adoption of soil and water conservation in West Usambara highlands, Tanzania

Social and economic factors affecting the adoption of soil and water conservation in West Usambara highlands, Tanzania

Participatory soil and water conservation planning using a financial analysis tool in the West Usambara highlands of Tanzania

The Empire Meets the New Deal: Interwar Encounters in Conservation and Regional Planning

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