Roots in the African Dust: Sustaining the Sub-Saharan Drylands

by Michael Mortimore

Overview

The traditional image of contemporary Africa is of a continent dogged by poverty, drought, degradation and famine. This study, drawing on the best work of the past decade and based on researched case studies from East and West Africa, rejects the notion of runaway desertification, driven by population growth and inappropriate land use. It suggests a more optimistic model of sustainable land use and an appropriate set of policy priorities to support dryland peoples in their efforts to sustain land and livelihoods.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521451734
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/17/1998
Pages:	238
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.67(d)

Table of Contents

1. Introduction; 2. Global perspectives on Africa's drylands; 3. A smallholder's perspective; 4. Risk in the rangelands; 5. Risk for the farmer; 6. Risk for the household; 7. Degradation; 8. Intensification; 9. Conservation; 10. Systems in transition.

Editorial Reviews

"This is a concise book, synthesizing a vast range of material...The claims made result from careful comparative work and trustworthy local field investigation; there are no empty assertions here. Mortimore is one of the discipline's most adept and rigourous practitioners of local level cultural ecology." The Professional Geographer

From the Publisher