4:15 PM - 4:30 PM
[HGG01-04] Human and Physical Aspects in Geography: Research Issues on Natural Resources and Environment
Keywords:Population, Environment, Scale, Methodology
After the discussion on the "Himalayan dilemma" and Neo-Malthusian pessimism that relates population growth with environmental degradation (e.g. Ives and Messerli 1989), the Boserupian optimism advanced the “More People, Less Erosion” hypothesis that population growth and agricultural intensification stopped soil erosion and realized environmental conservation, taking semi-arid Kenya as an example (Tiffen et al. 1994). This has stimulated a variety of arguments on its exceptionality (Boyd and Slaymaker 2000), challenges of soil erosion science including the scale issue (Boardman 2006), and more recent examination (e.g. Duriaux-Chavarría et al. 2020). Scientific understanding has also stressed that human-environmental dynamics in semi-arid areas are unpredictable and complex, and that a simple pessimistic / optimistic dichotomy is inappropriate. The scientific knowledge may resonate with indigenous knowledge (Dahlberg and Blaikie 1999), and it has evolved interdisciplinarily into the theme of community-based soil conservation (Peterson et al. 2018, Karaya et al. 2021).
If scientific knowledge is based on the dichotomy of pessimism / optimism, the argument may either deny "environmentally destructive" indigenous knowledge or confirm and idealize "environmentally conservationist" indigenous knowledge: this may affect development and conservation policies. From the perspective of human geography and social science, this presentation examines the validity of the above dichotomy and seeks jcollaboration with physical geography and earth science.
Time scale is a relevant issue. In rural East Africa, it is very difficult to retroactively gather longitudinal information on social phenomena with high time resolution and analyze their relationship with the slope process. However, as evidenced by an analysis of aerial photographs and satellite images of the research area on the Meru Mountain flanks in northeastern Tanzania (Ueda 2011), the area proportion of home gardens with perennial crops increased from 31.2% in 1962 to 51.2% in 1987, then it shrank to 27.7% by 2008 (seasonal cropland expanded). This non-linear land use / cover change is related to ever-ongoing land subdivision due to population growth and land inheritance, and the fluctuating international market conditions of cash crops. The relationship between the socio-economic factors captured on such a time scale and the slope process is one of the themes to be examined.
References
Boardman, J. 2006. Soil erosion science: Reflections on the limitations of current approaches. Catena, 68(2-3), 73-86.
Boyd, C., and Slaymaker, T. 2000. Re-examining the “more people less erosion” hypothesis: Special case or wider trend. Natural Resource Perspective, 63(November), 1-6.
Dahlberg, A. C., and Blaikie, P. M. 1999. Changes in landscape or in interpretation? Reflections based on the environmental and socio-economic history of a village in NE Botswana. Environment and History, 5(2), 127-174.
Ives, J. D. and Messerli, B. 1989. The Himalayan Dilemma. United Nations University, Routledge.
Karaya, R. N., Onyango, C. A., and Ogendi, G. M. 2021. A community-GIS supported dryland use and cover change assessment: The case of the Njemps flats in Kenya. Cogent Food and Agriculture, 7(1), 1872852.
Peterson, R. B., Kapiyo, R. A., Campbell, E. M., and Nyabua, P. O. 2018. Gully Rehabilitation Trusts: Fighting soil erosion through community participation in western Kenya. Journal of Rural Studies, 58, 67-81.
Tiffen, M., Mortimore, M., & Gichuki, F. 1994. More People, Less Erosion: Environmental Recovery in Kenya. John Wiley & Sons.
Ueda, G. 2011. Land subdivision and land use change in the frontier settlement zone of Mount Meru, Tanzania. African Study Monographs. Supplementary issue, 42, 101-118.
If scientific knowledge is based on the dichotomy of pessimism / optimism, the argument may either deny "environmentally destructive" indigenous knowledge or confirm and idealize "environmentally conservationist" indigenous knowledge: this may affect development and conservation policies. From the perspective of human geography and social science, this presentation examines the validity of the above dichotomy and seeks jcollaboration with physical geography and earth science.
Time scale is a relevant issue. In rural East Africa, it is very difficult to retroactively gather longitudinal information on social phenomena with high time resolution and analyze their relationship with the slope process. However, as evidenced by an analysis of aerial photographs and satellite images of the research area on the Meru Mountain flanks in northeastern Tanzania (Ueda 2011), the area proportion of home gardens with perennial crops increased from 31.2% in 1962 to 51.2% in 1987, then it shrank to 27.7% by 2008 (seasonal cropland expanded). This non-linear land use / cover change is related to ever-ongoing land subdivision due to population growth and land inheritance, and the fluctuating international market conditions of cash crops. The relationship between the socio-economic factors captured on such a time scale and the slope process is one of the themes to be examined.
References
Boardman, J. 2006. Soil erosion science: Reflections on the limitations of current approaches. Catena, 68(2-3), 73-86.
Boyd, C., and Slaymaker, T. 2000. Re-examining the “more people less erosion” hypothesis: Special case or wider trend. Natural Resource Perspective, 63(November), 1-6.
Dahlberg, A. C., and Blaikie, P. M. 1999. Changes in landscape or in interpretation? Reflections based on the environmental and socio-economic history of a village in NE Botswana. Environment and History, 5(2), 127-174.
Ives, J. D. and Messerli, B. 1989. The Himalayan Dilemma. United Nations University, Routledge.
Karaya, R. N., Onyango, C. A., and Ogendi, G. M. 2021. A community-GIS supported dryland use and cover change assessment: The case of the Njemps flats in Kenya. Cogent Food and Agriculture, 7(1), 1872852.
Peterson, R. B., Kapiyo, R. A., Campbell, E. M., and Nyabua, P. O. 2018. Gully Rehabilitation Trusts: Fighting soil erosion through community participation in western Kenya. Journal of Rural Studies, 58, 67-81.
Tiffen, M., Mortimore, M., & Gichuki, F. 1994. More People, Less Erosion: Environmental Recovery in Kenya. John Wiley & Sons.
Ueda, G. 2011. Land subdivision and land use change in the frontier settlement zone of Mount Meru, Tanzania. African Study Monographs. Supplementary issue, 42, 101-118.