Rural Resources and Local Livelihoods in Africa

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xii

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2. Introduction

   1. Introduction

      • Katherine Homewood

      Pages 1-10

3. Degradation or Change?

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 11-13

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   2. Out of the Woodland, into the Fire

      • Jo Abbot

      Pages 15-35

   3. Protected Areas & Decentralisation in the Democratic Republic of Congo

      • Emmanuel de Merode

      Pages 36-58

4. Shifting Livelihoods

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 59-62

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   2. Detail & Dogma, Data & Discourse

      • Sian Sullivan

      Pages 63-99

   3. The Contingency of Community Conservation

      • Dan Brockington

      Pages 100-120

5. Livelihood Strategies

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 121-122

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   2. People are a Resource

      • Kate Hampshire, Sara Randall

      Pages 123-136

   3. Gender Equality? No!

      • Solveig Buhl

      Pages 137-154

6. Social Institutions of Resource Management

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 155-156

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   2. Understanding Institutional Contexts to Define Research Questions

      • Barrie Sharpe

      Pages 157-176

   3. Legal Pluralism in the Rain Forests of South-eastern Cameroon

      • Monica Graziani, Philip Burnham

      Pages 177-197

   4. Conclusion

      • Katherine Homewood

      Pages 198-205

7. Back Matter

   Pages 206-212

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Top scholars examine issues which lead readers to better understand environmental change in the African continent and its effects on rural African livelihoods. Each of the studies in this book concerns four main issues: conservation, biodiversity, and environment; land use and livelihoods; environmental change; and policies for conservation and development. The volume looks closely at the details of rural resource use, access and control, the social institutions which shape this, and the effects on African environments. It is not possible to understand livelihoods in Africa - a central issue for all social and economic questions - without grasping the interplay between environmental change and the sustainability of rural livelihoods. The volume is groundbreaking in its detailed examination of this interplay, and its importance in grasping the roots of poverty and potential for its alleviation, and for its unique combination of natural and social science methods.

• Africa
• African culture
• anthropology
• culture
• development
• environment
• political science
• politics
• social science
• sociology

"The [volume as a whole] is more than the sum of its parts, showing real coherence and demonstrating the great value of [the contributors'] work over the last decade or so in comprehending the dynamics of African livelihoods and environmental change." - Melissa Leach, Professor of Anthropology, University of Sussex

• University College, London, UK

  Katherine Homewood

Katherine Homewood is Professor of Anthropology, University of London.

Policies and ethics