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REVIEW:
'...a very readable and nicely presented volume... the case studies detail much needed empirical work towards understanding the events and processes that lead to landscape change at the local and regional level... it is a book that will be welcomed by students and teachers at undergraduate level with an interest in understanding society-environment relations and the dynamics of environmental change on the continent' - Jennifer A. Elliot in Geography 'Environmental discourses for African savannas have been dominated by images of crisis and extensive degradation throughout the development literature and policy spheres for many years. Gradually, negative environmental portrayals (for example of desertification and deforestation) have been questioned in academic literature... What has been lacking however, and what this text aims to provide is a coherent critique based on detailed case study interdisciplinary research from across Africa. Based largely on the findings of a collaborative research project co-ordinated by the editors from the University of Illinois (but including impressive cross-disciplinary research teams in Burkino Faso, Cote D'Ivoire, Ethiopia and Mozambique) this text offers an excellent synthesis field research in some of Africa's sub-humid savannas. It offers a balanced, positive portrayal of the complexities of the interactions between environmental changes and their social, cultural and political causes and implications. The case study chapters portray an image of African farmers and herders as knowledgeable and responsible environmental managers who are actors in people-environment relations, rather than victims of widespread degradation...The wealth of people-environment focused case material is the clear strength of this text. It offers an invaluable hindsight to the intricacies of complex interaction that regulate rural livelihoods for all African farmers...The case study chapters provide a depth of insight and methodological invention, that will make interesting reading for practitioners and academics alike, whilst the introductory chapter offers an accessible introduction for all.' - Andrew Dougill in Leeds African Studies Bulletin
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