Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T04:42:39.889Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

THE POLITICAL ECOLOGY OF ‘INCURSIONS’: LIVESTOCK, PROTECTED AREAS AND SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS IN THE MARA REGION OF KENYA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 October 2014

Bilal Butt
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Across the world, the presence of domestic animals in protected areas (PAs) is considered an ‘incursion’ that threatens the economic and ecological viability of these areas. Dominant narratives about incursions inaccurately describe the relationships between people and PAs because they lack adequate contextualization. In this paper, I rely on a political-ecological framework to argue for an alternative narrative. Through a case study from a PA in southern Kenya, I demonstrate how incursions are instead modern co-productions that arise from the intersections between changing political geographies of resource control and variable animal geographies of resource utilization – thus clarifying a long-standing debate about the presence of domestic animals in PAs. I rely on direct empirical and supporting evidence from place-based studies to illustrate the spatial and temporal differences in resource access strategies of wildlife and livestock within and outside the PA. I contrast these against changing land tenure and resource management policies to highlight how livestock movements into PAs are patterned in ways that reflect the changing nature of PA management, the material conditions of the landscape, and the agency of animals. Through these investigations, this paper provides a more accurate and nuanced explanation for livestock movements into PAs.

Résumé

Partout dans le monde, la présence d'animaux domestiques dans les zones protégées (ZP) est considérée comme une « incursion » qui menace la viabilité économique et écologique de ces zones. Les récits dominants sur les incursions décrivent de manière inexacte les relations entre les populations et les ZP par manque de contextualisation adéquate. Dans cet article, l'auteur s'appuie sur un cadre politico-écologique pour faire valoir un autre récit. À travers l’étude de cas d'une ZP dans le sud du Kenya, l'auteur démontre que les incursions sont plutôt des coproductions modernes résultant des intersections entre des géographies politiques changeantes de contrôle des ressources et des géographies animales variables d'utilisation des ressources, clarifiant par là-même un débat de longue date sur la présence d'animaux domestiques dans les ZP. Il s'appuie sur des éléments probants empiriques directs tirés d’études sur place pour illustrer les différences spatio-temporelles de stratégies d'accès aux ressources de la faune et du bétail à l'intérieur et à l'extérieur de la ZP. Il les met en contraste avec les politiques changeantes en matière de foncier et de gestion des ressources pour souligner que les schémas de mouvements de bétail vers les ZP reflètent la nature changeante de la gestion des ZP, des conditions matérielles du paysage et de l'action des animaux. À travers ces études, l'article fournit une explication plus exacte et nuancée des mouvements de bétail vers les ZP.

Type
Land and livestock
Information
Africa , Volume 84 , Issue 4 , November 2014 , pp. 614 - 637
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Behnke, R. H. and Muthami, D. (2011) The Contribution of Livestock to the Kenyan Economy. IGAD LPI Working Paper 03–11. Nairobi: Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.Google Scholar
Bhola, N., Ogutu, J., Piepho, H.-P., Said, M., Reid, R., Hobbs, N. and Olff, H. (2012) ‘Comparative changes in density and demography of large herbivores in the Masai Mara Reserve and its surrounding human-dominated pastoral ranches in Kenya’, Biodiversity and Conservation 21 (6): 1509–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blaikie, P. M. and Brookfield, H. C. (eds) (1987) Land Degradation and Society. London and New York NY: Methuen.Google Scholar
Brockington, D. (2002) Fortress Conservation: the preservation of the Mkomazi Game Reserve, Tanzania. Oxford: James Currey.Google Scholar
Broten, M. and Said, M. (1995) ‘Population trends of ungulates in and around Kenya's Masai Mara Reserve’ in Sinclair, A. R. E. and Arcese, P. (eds), Serengeti II: dynamics, management and conservation of an ecosystem. Chicago IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Bryant, R. L. and Bailey, S. (1997) Third World Political Ecology. London and New York NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Burnsilver, S., Boone, R. B. and Galvin, K. (2003) ‘Linking pastoralists to a heterogeneous landscape: the case of four Maasai group ranches in Kajiado district, Kenya’ in Fox, J., Mishra, C., Rindfuss, R. and Walsh, S. J. (eds), People and the Environment: approaches for linking household and community surveys to remote sensing and GIS. Boston MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers.Google Scholar
Butt, B. (2010a) ‘Pastoral resource access and utilization: quantifying the spatial and temporal relationships between livestock mobility, density and biomass availability in southern Kenya’, Land Degradation and Development 21 (6): 520–39.Google Scholar
Butt, B. (2010b) ‘Seasonal space–time dynamics of cattle behavior and mobility among Maasai pastoralists in semi-arid Kenya’, Journal of Arid Environments 74 (3): 403–13.Google Scholar
Butt, B. (2011) ‘Coping with uncertainty and variability: the influence of protected areas on pastoral herding strategies in East Africa’, Human Ecology 39 (3): 289–307.Google Scholar
Butt, B. (2012) ‘Commoditizing the safari and making space for conflict: place, identity and parks in East Africa’, Political Geography 31 (2): 104–13.Google Scholar
Butt, B. and Turner, M. (2012) ‘Clarifying competition: the case of wildlife and pastoral livestock in East Africa’, Pastoralism: Research, Practice and Policy 2 (9): 2–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Butt, B., Shortridge, A. and WinklerPrins, A. M. G. A. (2009) ‘Pastoral herd management, drought coping strategies, and cattle mobility in southern Kenya’, Annals of the Association of American Geographers 99 (2): 309–34.Google Scholar
Center for Biological Diversity, Gila Watch, National Wildlife Federation, New Mexico Wildlife Federation, Trout Unlimited, Rio Grande Chapter, Wilderness Watch (2003) ‘Conservation groups sue to stop illegal cattle grazing in and near New Mexico wilderness areas’. Joint press release, 24 September. <http://www.forwolves.org/ralph/DiamondBar.htm>, accessed 5 June 2014.,+accessed+5+June+2014.>Google Scholar
Das, K. B. (2008) ‘The policy of reduction of cattle populations from protected areas: a case study from Buxa Tiger Reserve, India’, Conservation and Society 6 (2): 185–9.Google Scholar
Derman, W., Odgaard, R. and Sjaastad, E. (eds) (2007) Conflicts over Land and Water in Africa. Oxford: James Currey.Google Scholar
Downie, A. (2008) ’Brazil confiscates cattle to protect its rain forest’, RedoOrbit News. <http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1451038/brazil_confiscates_cattle_to_protect_its_rain_forest/>, accessed 13 October 2013.,+accessed+13+October+2013.>Google Scholar
Dublin, H. (1995) ‘Vegetation dynamics in the Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem: the role of elephants, fire and other factors’ in Sinclair, A. R. E. and Arcese, P. (eds), Serengeti II: dynamics, management and conservation of an ecosystem. Chicago IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Galaty, J. G. (1992) ‘“The land is yours”: social and economic factors in the privatization, sub-division and sale of Maasai ranches’, Nomadic Peoples 30: 26–40.Google Scholar
Goldman, M. J., Nadasdy, P. and Turner, M. D. (eds) (2011) Knowing Nature: conversations at the intersection of political ecology and science studies. Chicago IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Guardian (2013) ‘Kagasheki, Nahodha, Nchimbi, Mathayo sacked as heads roll’, Guardian (Tanzania), 21 December. <http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=62864>, accessed 5 June 2014.,+accessed+5+June+2014.>Google Scholar
Haslam, C. (2009) ‘Kenya reaches crisis point as drought threatens reserves’, The Sunday Times, 20 September. <http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/travel/article184523.ece>, accessed 13 October 2013.,+accessed+13+October+2013.>Google Scholar
Hastenrath, S., Polzin, D. and Mutai, C. (2007) ‘Diagnosing the 2005 drought in Equatorial East Africa’, Journal of Climate 20 (18): 4628–37.Google Scholar
Homer-Dixon, T. F. (1999) Environment, Scarcity, and Violence. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Homewood, K., Kristjanson, P. and Trench, P. (2009) ‘Changing land use, livelihoods and wildlife conservation in Maasailand’ in Homewood, K., Kristjanson, P. and Trench, P. (eds), Staying Maasai? Livelihoods, conservation and development in East African rangelands. New York NY: Springer.Google Scholar
Homewood, K., Lambin, E. F., Coast, E., Kariuki, A., Kikula, I., Kivelia, J., Said, M., Serneels, S. and Thompson, M. (2001) ‘Long-term changes in Serengeti-Mara wildebeest and land cover: pastoralism, population, or policies?’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 98 (2): 12544–9.Google Scholar
Hopcraft, J. G. C., Sinclair, A. R. E. and Packer, C. (2005) ‘Planning for success: Serengeti lions seek prey accessibility rather than abundance’, Journal of Animal Ecology 74 (3): 559–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Housing and Land Rights Network (2005) ‘Thousands evicted from Virunga National Park’, Housing and Land Rights Network, 1 August. <http://hlrn.org/violation.php?id=p2pt>, accessed 13 October 2013.,+accessed+13+October+2013.>Google Scholar
IFAW (2009) ‘IFAW Africa: security operations intensified as elephants poached in Tsavo’, IFAW Animal Rescue Blog, 29 June. <http://www.nature-news-network.org/ifaw-africa-security-operations-intensified-as-elephants-poached-in-tsavo.html>, accessed 18 October 2013.,+accessed+18+October+2013.>Google Scholar
IFAW (2010) ‘IFAW chasing cattle to conserve Tsavo’, IFAW Animal Rescue Blog, n.d. <http://www.ifaw.org/us/node/2217>, accessed 18 April 2012.,+accessed+18+April+2012.>Google Scholar
Infield, M., Duli, E. M., Mugisha, A. R. and Rubagyema, P. (2009) ‘How protection took the beauty from the land: conflicting values and meanings of Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda’ in Mallarach, J.-M. (ed.), Protected Landscapes and Cultural and Spiritual Values: Volume 2. Heidelberg: Kasparek Verlag.Google Scholar
Karanja, G. (2003) ‘Tourism impacts inside Masai Mara National Reserve’ in Walpole, M., Karanja, G., Sitati, N. W. and Leader-Williams, N. (eds), Wildlife and People: conflict and conservation in Masai Mara, Kenya. London: International Institute for Environment and Development.Google Scholar
Kemei, K. (2006) ‘Tourists miss animals at Maasai Mara’, East African Standard, 3 January.Google Scholar
Lamprey, R. H. and Reid, R. S. (2004) ‘Expansion of human settlement in Kenya's Maasai Mara: what future for pastoralism and wildlife?’, Journal of Biogeography 31 (6): 997–1032.Google Scholar
Lind, J. and Letai, J. (2010) ‘Innovation and distress: managing multiple uncertainties in Laikipia, Kenya’. Future Agricultures Research Update. Brighton: Future Agricultures Consortium. <http://www.future-agricultures.org/component/docman/doc_download/1074-innovation-and-distress-managing-multiple-uncertainties-in-laikipia-kenya>, accessed 23 April 2012.,+accessed+23+April+2012.>Google Scholar
Little, P. D. (2003) ‘Rethinking interdisciplinary paradigms and the political ecology of pastoralism in East Africa’ in Bassett, T. J. and Crummey, D. (eds), African Savannas: global narratives and local knowledge of environmental changes. Oxford: James Currey.Google Scholar
McConnell, T. (2009) ‘Drought hits Kenya's wildlife: millions in East Africa are on food aid, but the animals are still dying’, Global Post (Canada), 16 October. <http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/africa/091008/drought-africa-wildlife-wildebeast-famine-maasai>, accessed 14 March 2012., accessed 14 March 2012.' href=https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=McConnell,+T.+(2009)+‘Drought+hits+Kenya's+wildlife:+millions+in+East+Africa+are+on+food+aid,+but+the+animals+are+still+dying’,+Global+Post+(Canada),+16+October.+,+accessed+14+March+2012.>Google Scholar
McNaughton, S. J. (1976) ‘Serengeti migratory wildebeest: facilitation of energy flow by grazing’, Science 191 (4222): 92–4.Google Scholar
Muchiru, A. N., Western, D. and Reid, R. (2009) ‘The impact of abandoned pastoral settlements on plant and nutrient succession in an African savanna ecosystem’, Journal of Arid Environments 73 (3): 322–31.Google Scholar
Mugerwa, F. (2008) ‘More cows impounded in Buliisa’, Monitor, 23 May. <http://allafrica.com/stories/200805221001.html>, accessed 15 October 2013.,+accessed+15+October+2013.>Google Scholar
Neumann, R. (1998) Imposing Wilderness: struggles over livelihood and nature preservation in Africa. Berkeley CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Neumann, R. (2001) ‘Disciplining peasants in Tanzania: from state violence to state surveillance in Tanzania’ in Peluso, N. L. and Watts, M. (eds), Violent Environments. Ithaca NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Niamir-Fuller, M., Kerven, C., Reid, R. and Milner-Gulland, E. (2012) ‘Co-existence of wildlife and pastoralism on extensive rangelands: competition or compatibility?’, Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice 2 (8): 1–4.Google Scholar
Norton, A. (1996) ‘Experiencing nature: the reproduction of environmental discourse through safari tourism in East Africa’, Geoforum 27 (3): 355–73.Google Scholar
Odadi, W. O., Karachi, M., Abdulrazak, S. and Young, T. P. (2011) ‘African wild ungulates compete with or facilitate cattle depending on season’, Science 333 (6050): 1753–5.Google Scholar
Ogutu, J. O., Bhola, N. and Reid, R. (2005) ‘The effects of pastoralism and protection on the density and distribution of carnivores and their prey in the Mara ecosystem of Kenya’, Journal of Zoology 265 (3): 281–93.Google Scholar
Ogutu, J. O., Owen-Smith, N., Piepho, H. P. and Said, M. Y. (2011) ‘Continuing wildlife population declines and range contraction in the Mara region of Kenya during 1977–2009’, Journal of Zoology 285 (2): 99–109.Google Scholar
OOC (2012a) ‘The concept of the Olare Orok and Motorogi Conservancy’. <http://www.oocmara.com/concept/>, accessed 23 April 2012.,+accessed+23+April+2012.>Google Scholar
OOC (2012b) ‘The Hay Project: Olare Orok and Motorogi Conservancies: Maasai Mara’. <http://www.oocmara.com/trust/projects/the-hay-project/>, accessed 22 February 2012.,+accessed+22+February+2012.>Google Scholar
Ottichilo, W. K., Said, M. Y., De Leeuw, J., Skidmore, A. K. and Prins, H. H. T. (2000) ‘Population trends of large non-migratory wild herbivores and livestock in the Masai Mara ecosystem, Kenya, between 1977 and 1997’, African Journal of Ecology 38: 202–16.Google Scholar
Peluso, N. L. and Watts, M. (eds) (2001) Violent Environments. Ithaca NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Rannestad, O. T., Danielsen, T., Moe, S. R. and Stokke, S. (2006) ‘Adjacent pastoral areas support higher densities of wild ungulates during the wet season than the Lake Mburo National Park in Uganda’, Journal of Tropical Ecology 22 (6): 675–83.Google Scholar
Reid, R., Rainy, M., Ogutu, J., Kruska, R., McCartney, M., Nyabenge, M., Kimani, K., Kshatriya, M., Worden, J., Ng'ang'a, L., Owuor, J., Kinoti, J., Njuguna, E., Wilson, C. and Lamprey, R. (2003) People, Wildlife and Livestock in the Mara Ecosystem: the Mara count 2002. Nairobi: International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).Google Scholar
Robbins, P. (2012) Political Ecology. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar
Robertshaw, P. and Brown, F. H. (1990) Early Pastoralists of South-western Kenya. Nairobi: British Institute in Eastern Africa.Google Scholar
Rutten, M. M. E. M. (1992) Selling Wealth to Buy Poverty: the process of the individualization of landownership among the Maasai pastoralists of Kajiado district Kenya, 1890–1990. Saarbrücken: Verlag Breitenbach.Google Scholar
Serneels, S. and Lambin, E. F. (2001a) ‘Impact of land-use changes on the wildebeest migration in the northern part of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem’, Journal of Biogeography 28 (3): 391–407.Google Scholar
Serneels, S. and Lambin, E. F. (2001b) ‘Proximate causes of land-use change in Narok district, Kenya: a spatial statistical model’, Agriculture Ecosystems and Environment 85 (1–3): 65–81.Google Scholar
Shetler, J. B. (2007) Imagining Serengeti: a history of landscape memory in Tanzania from earliest times to the present. Athens OH: Ohio University Press.Google Scholar
Sinclair, A. R. E., Hopcraft, G., Olff, H., Mduma, S., Galvin, K. and Sharam, G. (2008) ‘Historical and future changes to the Serengeti ecosystem’ in Sinclair, A. R. E., Packer, C., Mduma, S. and Fryxell, J. M., Serengeti III: human impacts on ecosystem dynamics. Chicago IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Sindiga, I. (1996) Population Change among the Maasai. Addis Ababa: Organization for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa.Google Scholar
Sørlie, E. B. (2008) ‘The establishment of wildlife conservancies in the Mara: the case of Olare Orok Conservancy’. MA thesis, Department of Political Science, University of Olso.Google Scholar
Talbot, L. and Olindo, P. (1990) ‘The Maasai Mara and Amboseli reserves’ in Kiss, A. (ed.), Living with Wildlife: wildlife resource management with local participation in Africa. Technical Series Paper 130. Washington DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
Thompson, M. and Homewood, K. (2002) ‘Entrepreneurs, elites, and exclusion in Maasailand: trends in wildlife conservation and pastoralist development’, Human Ecology 30 (1): 107–38.Google Scholar
Thompson, M., Serneels, S., Ole Kaelo, D. and Trench, P. (2009) ‘Maasai Mara: land privatization and wildlife decline. Can conservation pay its way?’ in Homewood, K., Kristjanson, P. and Trench, P. (eds), Staying Maasai? Livelihoods, conservation and development in East African rangelands. London: Springer.Google Scholar
Turner, M. D. (2003) ‘Methodological reflections on the use of remote sensing and geographic information science in human ecological research’, Human Ecology 31 (2): 255–80.Google Scholar
Waller, R. (1990) ‘Tsetse-fly in western Narok, Kenya’, Journal of African History 31 (1): 81–101.Google Scholar
Walpole, M., Karanja, G., Sitati, N. W. and Leader-Williams, N. (eds) (2003) Wildlife and People: conflict and conservation in Masai Mara, Kenya. Wildlife and Development Series 14. London: International Institute for Environment and Development.Google Scholar
Walsh, M. (2012) ‘The not-so-Great Ruaha and hidden histories of an environmental panic in Tanzania’, Journal of Eastern African Studies 5 (2): 303–35.Google Scholar
West, P., Igoe, J. I. M. and Brockington, D. (2006) ‘Parks and peoples: the social impact of protected areas’, Annual Review of Anthropology 35: 251–77.Google Scholar
Wilson, A. (1987) Guidebook to the Masai Mara Reserve. Nairobi: Design Horizon International.Google Scholar
Wolch, J. R. and Emel, J. (1998) Animal Geographies: place, politics, and identity in the nature–culture borderlands. London and New York NY: Verso.Google Scholar