Community rights, consomation and contested land: the politics of natural resource governance in Africa

Abstract

Natural resource governance is central to the outcomes of biodiversity conservation efforts and to patterns of econoic development, particularly in resource-dependent rural communities. The institutional arrangements tha tdefine natural resource governance are outcomes of political processes, whereby numerous groups with often divergent interests negotiate for access to and control over resources. These political processes determine the outcomes of resource governance reofrm efforts, such as widespread attempts to decentralize or devolve greater tenure over land and resources to local communities. this volume examiens the political dynamics of natural resource governance processes through a range of comparative case studies across east and southern Africa. These cases include both local and national settings, adn examine issues such as land rights, tourism developement, wildlife conservation, participatory forest management and theimpacts of climate change, and are drawn from...