The Politics of Deforestation in Africa

Description

This book explores how environmental policies are made and enforced in Africa. Specifically, this project explains the gap between intent and impact of forest policies, focusing on three African societies facing persistent deforestation today: Madagascar, Tanzania, and Uganda. The central claim of the study is that deforestation persists because conservation policies and projects, which are largely underwritten by foreign donors, consistently ignore the fact that conservation is possible only under limited and specific conditions. To make the case, the author examines how decision-making power is negotiated and exercised where communities make environmental decisions daily (local level) and where environmental policies are negotiated and enacted (national level) across three distinct African political systems. Front Matter ....Pages i-xv Why Deforestation Persists in Africa: Actors, Interests, and Interest Alignment (Nadia Rabesahala Horning)....Pages 1-41 Seeing Like a Farmer: Resource Politics at the Community Level (Nadia Rabesahala Horning)....Pages 43-88 Executive Branches and Trees: Environmental Politics at the National Level (Nadia Rabesahala Horning)....Pages 89-134 Across the Great Divide: Collaborative Forest Management (Nadia Rabesahala Horning)....Pages 135-163 Epilogue (Nadia Rabesahala Horning)....Pages 165-175 Back Matter ....Pages 177-183