The Kissidougou degradation

The Kissidougou degradation myth persists for a variety of reasons. For starters, people have been taught for many years that human actions such as fire-setting are to blame for land degradation. Many research investigations have also linked human activities to forest land degradation. This explanation is countered by the claim that the Kissidougou area was primarily forested, but the communities who lived there entrenched themselves through farming and fire-setting, culminating in the formation of the savannah fields. Either way, Fairhead and Leach agree that the increased population and human activities in the area resulted in severe degradation of the land to the extent of attracting both national and local attention. They point out that several international organizations have invested in the rehabilitation of the savannah lands of Kissidougou in a bid to restore the humid forest cover. The government of Guinea has also moved and reclaimed the management of natural resources from the local people and entrusted them to state corporations. Most importantly, the narrative of Kissidougou remains entrenched because of the adverse effects the degradation of land has caused. According to Fairhead and Leach, it is true that some water sources have dried up in the area and the degradation is contributing to global warming. However, there is also the critical factor of cultural practices of the villagers that makes the degradation narrative interesting. They have maintained forests island around their farms for protection and other cultural significance.


2. What is the relationship between Malthus' ideas and the environmental degradation narrative discussed by Hoben?
The degradation narrative by Hoben seem to contrast the ideas of Malthus as exercised in the environmental policy of Ethiopia. According to Hoben, the Ethiopian authorities and the donors engaged the neo-Malthusian concepts of land reclamation without considering their cost and effects. The neo-Malthusian ideas got it wrong in understanding the genesis and trend of land degradation in Ethiopia. They were quick to blame the local communities for the effects of deforestation of the highland plateau. Hoben argues that drought was common in Ethiopia long before the human population increased. The local communities had established ways of using trees for their livelihood without destroying the environment. While the neo-Malthusians ideas saw agro-forestry as a cause of land degradation, Hoben believed it was inevitable for communities in the highlands to do without it. In fact, he asserts that the peasant behaviors in the highlands did not have a direct effect in destruction of the environment. While the Malthus ideas saw it necessary to invest in sophisticated technology to reclaim land, Hoben saw it as a waste of resources because most of the technologies engaged were untested. Therefore, the government and the donor organizations invested a lot of money in an environment program that failed miserably because it lacked the support of the locals. Hoben believes that the cultural practices of the indigenous communities can help in solving the environmental degradation problem in Ethiopia.

3. What is the significance of the stop sign in relation to environmental conflict?
The stop sign in relation to environmental conflict is critical to the conservation process. Despite recent findings that human activities can have a positive effect on the conservation of the environment, there is need to set limits on the effects human beings can have on the environment. While in most cases the indigenous communities have learned to live cohesively with the environment, the commercial oriented population have adverse effects on land. Therefore, the stop sign will set the boundaries that people need to respect when conflicting with the ecology. For example, when commercial developers want to construct houses or road networks in game reserves, then the stop sign would play a critical role in ending the conflict. Conservationist agree that while some human communities help in the protection of the environment, the same cannot be said of the majority capitalist who are financially motivated. Without the stop sign, they would go ahead and sell every naturally available land to the highest bidder. It is obvious, the nature has great value in terms of the trees, water bodies, minerals, and even animals. Without restrictions in the environmental conflict, humans would go overboard for the sake of financial gains. For example, were it not for the ban in ivory trade in most countries in the world, elephants would be extinct because of human poaching.

4. How does Knight's article provide an example of nature being socially encompassed?
Knight's article provides an example of the Japanese mountain forests where the different ecological species and the communities living around the forest establish some form of social relationship. The villages living in the mountain areas of japan suffered for many years because of encroachment that affected their source of livelihood. After the war, the villages adopted a new relationship with the forests. They started taking care and protecting the forest that provided their basic needs including food, medicine, and shelter. The mountain and the forests became part of the Japanese families. Thus, nature was part of the social set-up of the Japanese villagers. Therefore, the article by knight shows clearly that is possible to deliberately make nature part of the society. One the reason people have conflicts with the environment is because they perceive it as an obstacle to their economic development. They want to extend their farms, build new houses, and construct new roads. However, the villages in the Japanese mountains saw nature as part of their social set up. They realized that they cannot prosper without the healthy forest around them. Hence, the communities took a proactive step towards conservation of the forests. The government also came in and helped by introducing forest landholding policies and mechanized system of forest conservation.


PART 2 - RESPOND TO 6 OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
Why does Dove use the words "uncertainty", "humility" and "adaptation" in the title of his article?
Dove use the words "uncertainty", "humility", and "adaptation" to describe gradual stages of change the development planners went through before taking up the augural system in making use of resources around tropical forests. The word "uncertainty" points to the manner the Kantu people of Indonesia used certain birds to determine swidden cultivation patterns. The augural system ensured high level of unpredictability and uncertainty. Even though the method seemed primitive, it helped the Kantu to make effective use of the rain forest without systematically using the land. However, the system seemed primitive because it involved some superstition and cultural believes. For the environmental experts, a more scientific method of land use would be appropriate. However, a critical analysis of the augural system established that it serves the environment better than the use of modern scientific methods of determining swidden cycle. Therefore, the word "humility" come in to describe how the experts had to humble and accept the fact that the traditional method is effective. Consequently, the land development planners had to adapt the same methods as the Kantu when making use of tropical forest land. The word "adaptation" in the title comes in to describe how modern ecologists use the traditional augury system as practiced by the Kantu. Even though there might be some slight variations in the adaptation strategy the randomization strategy remains the same.



2. Explain the following quote: "The trouble with wilderness is that it expresses and reproduces the very values it tries to reject".
The quote by Cronon is part of an argument asserts human beings should not try to create a myopic reality that they can recreate the wilderness. The people who advocate for the devoted protection of the wilderness fail to realize that human beings have moved on from the virgin land described in the bible and nothing done today or in the future can reverse the action of human beings on the environment. Therefore, Cronon argues that those who advocate for preservation of the wilderness reject the encroachment of human beings in the natural environment. For example, the American government removed the Indians from their natural habitats because they wanted to preserve the "wild.' Ironically, the Indians were made to live the urban areas that constituted their new "wilderness". In the same way an urbanite would feel out of place when taken to the bush, those who live in the forests would also feel lost in the towns and cities. In short, the quote believes that there is no sense in removing or separating human beings from the natural world. If men considered the whole world as their "wilderness' they would feel obliged to take care of their environment. Secluding a piece of land and calling it "wild" and deserving protection implies the other unsecured spaces do not deserve care and protection.


3. What is the significance of the "scientific" support of various environmental degradation narratives?
The "scientific" support of various environmental degradation narratives is critical because it offers an alternative viewpoint based on empirical data. The emergence of cultural and anthropological narratives that support the traditional view of land conservation need an alternative. It would be inappropriate to dismiss all the scientific support of degradation simply because some few have been discredited by the traditional methods. For example, it is not possible to access and predict intricate cases of the environment such as global warming without the use of scientific evidence. The studies that emerge to challenge scientific evidence are essential because they motivate the scientist to use improved methods of assessing environmental degradation. In fact, it is even possible to combine the traditional views with some scientific methods. Furthermore, most of the unscientific myths that explain deterioration of the ecosystem are based on methods that cannot be relied without being subjected to scientific verification. The traditional societies had experience in assessing their environment and developing solutions to take care of their natural environment. However, they did not have the capacity to conduct comparative analysis by collecting data from various regions of the world. The lessons on degradation learned in one part of the world is transferable to others parts through scientific analysis. Therefore, we cannot dismiss the role of scientific support in the analysis of environmental degradation.

7. According to Fairhead and Leach, the idea that savanna is expanding while forests are shrinking due to human action in Guinee's forest zone is incorrect. Rather, humans are responsible for the creation of forests. What are some of the reasons that this problematic narrative about human induced deforestation remains unchanged since Colonial times?

The narrative on human triggered deforestation remains unchanged since the colonial times because of the effects of formal education. Since the colonial period, ingenious people were introduced to the formal education system that pointed at human activities as the main cause of deforestation. In addition, the European system of education discouraged people from living in the forest like animals. The narrative communities were forced in communal reserves for ease of administration and told not to venture into the forests. The narrative became entrenched in the minds of the new generation of the indigenous people that new little about an opposing view. In addition to the formal education, the modern scientific methods have also pointed to human activities as the sole contributors of environmental degradation. It is almost impossible for the world to go against the findings of empirical studies. Therefore, the ideas of Fairhead and Leach remain farfetched theories and that cannot be taught in an environment class. Furthermore, what happens in other parts of the globe makes it difficult to believe the few cases where human beings contribute to afforestation in places such as the Guinee's forest zone. In other places, human beings have a direct hand in the deforestation process.


8. While watching Second Nature and during the discussion of Hoben I warned students to avoid and "undynamic view of peasant behaviour". What did I mean by this and why is this significant?
The warning to avoid "undynamic view of peasant behaviour" was due to the fact that both the film Second Nature and the text by Hoben provide divergent views that heavily deviate from the usual concepts of environmental conservation. Many students grow up knowing that peasant behavior around the forests such as hunting and bush burning contribute to severe degradation of the natural lands. However, watching the film would require dynamic views that can take in the new ideas. The ideas of the two texts present a paradigm shift on the role of peasant communities living around forests. While authorities have been busy pushing them off the forest, the findings in the film suggest otherwise. It is clear from the film that students would need to unlearn some concepts. Therefore, the warning serves as a mind and eye opener to the students. It implies that students would need to read and research widely on the subject of peasant behavior in forests lands across the world. The idea of Second Nature triggers a change of view to accommodate the fact that not all peasant behaviors around tropical forests are harmful. It is also important because students are supposed to have a critical mind when approaching new concepts. They should be ready to argue and support their stand based on what they know and the ideas they get from the texts studied in class.


9. What counter-narratives does Hoben argue provide a better understanding of the Ethiopian famine and associated environmental degradation?
Hoben uses four main counter-narratives to help in understanding the issue of environmental degradation in Ethiopia. First, the Derg's land reform introduced in 1975 took away land from the traditional communities and made them public. The control of land shifted from the peasants to the state officials disguised as peasant association leaders. That was the beginning of famine as the state was not able to make good use of the land as was the case with traditional communities. The same case applies to the use of production cooperatives as argued by Hoben. The peasant saw the cooperatives as depriving their rights to own land and resulted in reduction of their output. They did not put enough effort the cooperatives farms as the government expected. The government also introduced a villagization policies and other measures that seem to empower communism in the rural areas. According to Hoben, the measures reduced the motivation of the peasants and reduced food production. It also leads to a deliberate disassociation of the peasants from the active role of environmental conservation. They no longer had a direct responsibility to take care of the and as their ancestors. Eventually, Ethiopia was facing serious threat of famine and land degradation. The measures introduced by the experts from foreign countries did not help solve the problem because they failed to consider the views of the peasants.

PART 3
You are an anthropologist conducting research in a region of northern Botswana that was once home to large populations of wildlife. There is a dominant degradation narrative that local populations are growing and therefore over-hunting wildlife. Discuss what information you will require about the case study to be able to provide an anthropological perspective on the situation. You do not have to discuss how you will get the information.
In such a scenario where the local population is accused of threatening the wildlife, it would be important to gather both present and historical information as relates to the interaction between the parties. It would be imperative to find out the trend of human population growth as well as the wildlife population growth. The human population is likely to grow faster than the wildlife population because it is not subjected to harsh natural selection factors such as hunting and diseases. It would also be important to identify both the present and past hunting behaviors of the local population. Have they changed their hunting or eating patterns to include more wildlife in their diet? Are they hunting animals that they did not hunt in the past? This information would help establish the direct relation between the actions of the local community and the diminishing wildlife population. Most importantly, it would be imperative to find out of the locals have any programs of protecting the wildlife, this information needs to include present and past practices. Finding out about the protection measures of the community would ultimately establish if the local community have a social responsibility to protect their ecosystem or they are just engaging in hunting without considering the future. This information would build an anthropological perspective that correlates the behaviors of the local community and the population or welfare of the wildlife.