Green appropriations through shifting contours of authority and property on a pastoralist commons

Abstract

The dynamics of customary land rights and displacement among east African pastoralists have been the subject of extensive scholarly inquiry. Displacement to make way for other land uses, government-led privatization schemes, endogenous subdivision to defend land against outsiders, and progressive enclosure of private land in the context of the recent 'land rush' are some of the documented trajectories of land tenure change. Less explored is how exogenous authority systems gain traction within common property regimes to re-shape the contours of property. Laikipia, Kenya presents an ideal context for this research given the uniquely ambitious effort to conserve globally significant wildlife on private land. We focus on a group ranch owned collectively by Maa-speaking pastoralists for whom formal title was secured with the support of outside actors vested in conservation, and coupled with efforts to provide financial incentives for conservation. Findings suggest the new governance structure established in the context of land titling has become a pathway through which outside authority gains traction -with consequences for property, sovereignty and the traction of green agendas. Findings deepen understanding of how shifting authority shapes processes of alienation and legitimation, and contribute to ongoing debates about land grabs, tenure formalization and neoliberal approaches to conservation.

The creation of capitalist time: Rethinking primitive accumulation through conservation

“…Transhumant (migratory) pastoralism in particular enabled people to mitigate risk and grow wealth in cattle because seasonally-guided migration let herd sizes increase beyond what any particular site can support year-round (Galaty, 2012;Lekan, 2020). This production style also supported biodiversity, preserved natural resources, and mitigated problems of overgrazing and disease by being attentive and adapting to changing rangeland vegetation and rainfall patterns (German et al, 2017;Homewood, 2008;Homewood and Rodgers, 1991;Shetler, 2007).…”

Resisting Legibility: State and Conservation Boundaries, Pastoralism, and the Risk of Dispossession through Geospatial Surveys in Tanzania

“…Rural voices can become marginalized when pitted against conservation and tourism interests (Bluwstein, 2017;Huggins, 2018;Orozco-Quintero and King, 2018). Formalization of land tenure and property ownership through clear boundaries and land use plans bears the risks of dispossession when state and non-state actors with an interest in land digitize, demarcate, title, and thereby make land claims visible (Bluwstein et al, 2018a;Boone, 2019;Chung, 2019;German, Unks and King, 2016;Maganga et al, 2016;Walwa, 2017). Formalization of land rights can also undermine access to land and resources across larger scales, suggesting that there is a trade-off between bounded territories with clear property rights and environmental resilience through access to spatially and temporally shifting resources (UCRT, 2010;Walker and Peters, 2001).…”

Interstitial but Resilient: Nomadic Shepherds in Piedmont (Northwest Italy) Amidst Spatial and Social Marginalization

“…For example, in recent years the Kenyan Army intervened repeatedly to defend private properties from pastoralists seeking grazing grounds for their cattle (German et al 2017). Similarly, during the dry season, the Maasai of the Kenyan Great Rift Valley move their herds along grassy roadsides and into conservation areas (e.g., lake shores) and agricultural fields, and establish adaptive relations with new stakeholders in their customary land (e.g., the Maasai around Lake Naivasha may seek access for their herds to the green residues from the large-scale export-oriented flower and vegetables farms surrounding the lake; Volpato, pers.…”