Introduction

Abstract

Sub-Saharan African populations seem especially vulnerable to drought, famine and disease. Many parts of Africa have high mortality rates, high fertility, widespread poverty and precarious food security (Downing, 1996; Rosenzweig and Parry, 1994). To many outside observers, African environments seem a central factor in people’s vulnerability, a major stumbling block to development. At the same time, African rangelands and forests are a magnet for biologists and ecologists. Some of these ecosystems are spectacular for their biodiversity; others are commonly seen as overexploited and as spiralling into terminal collapse. Sub-Saharan African rangelands and forests have been a playground for western interventions, and something of a bottomless pit for donor funding on both environment and development. Many if not most of those initiatives have had poor outcomes. That suggests there is something seriously wrong with western understanding of African environments, of the part they play in people’s vulnerability, of the ways that people deal with them and of the impacts those strategies entail. This book seeks to analyse and clarify interactions of environment, land use, livelihoods, and natural resource management in African forests and savannas. It aims to develop a better understanding, an approach and a methodology, which in turn will give insights into people’s natural resource use strategies, will inform policy and management, and ultimately contribute to more secure livelihoods and welfare for local rural African populations.