Highland Sanctuary: Environmental History in Tanzania's Usambara Mountains FROM THE PUBLISHER
"Highland Sanctuary is the first historical study of the strikingly different environmental histories of the East and West Usambaras and a significant contribution to global environmental history." Christopher A. Conte explores the changing ecological and economic perspectives of German and British colonial officials, settlers, and scientists, on the one hand, and African farmers and pastoralists, on the other. He unravels the complex interactions between agriculture, herding, forestry, the colonial state, and the landscape itself. His examination of the region's history of ecological transformation shows how these forces have combined to create an ever-changing mosaic of forest and field. Conte illuminates the ongoing debate over conservation of the mountains' resources, arguing that contingency and change and human agency have shaped forests in ways that rival the power of nature.
SYNOPSIS
Conte (history, Utah State U., Logan) describes the environmental history of the Usambara Moutains, a remarkable range near Tanzania's Indian Ocean coastline. He examines the natural and human history of the mountains, how humanity has changed the forests into garden and pasture, the colonials' efforts to mine the mountains in the names of science and agricultural development, and the more recent efforts of the independent post-colonial nation to preserve the flora and fauna of the mountains while sustaining the people around them. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
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