Thematic AEGIS Conference
Trondheim 14-15 April 2005

Conference

Programme &
presentations

Abstracts

Global myths - local realities?
(Re)exploring the links between Environment and Development in Africa

The 2004 Nobel Prize Laureate Wangari Muta Maathai and the Green Belt Movement yet again demonstrate the actuality of the links between environment and development in Africa.

For many outsiders, Africa is a continent closely associated with environmental problems such as deforestation, desertification, loss of biodiversity, water scarcity, and resource-based armed conflicts. These problems are often presented in the form of crisis narratives conveying a sense of urgency, which gives us (often coming from the North) a moral ‘right’ (and duty?) to take action over land and resources in African societies. On the other hand, Africa is also seen as an image of ‘Eden’, a continent characterised by unspoilt nature filled with wild animals and beautiful landscapes.  Colonial trophy hunting as well as today’s photo safaris all build upon this image.

Photo: Trygve Rindal

While the Green Belt Movement in Kenya may be a case of genuine popular participation and empowerment, most development and aid efforts directed towards the poor of the African countries are defined and implemented by others on their behalf.  Commonly, problems are claimed to have been identified on the basis of scientific evidence, and prescribed solutions and actions are also commonly claimed to be grounded in science. African environmental issues are, however, not always well understood.  The tendency of NGOs, international institutions and governments to concentrate their strategies and policies on issues that achieve international status as mainstream knowledge is still strong, although it is well documented that such knowledge may lose its credibility after a certain period of time

Over the last decades there has been a process of rereading and reinterpretation of the present-day situation as well as the environmental history of Africa. Many well-established ‘truths’ about environmental problems have been questioned and new answers have been provided.  Important in this process of reinterpretation has been a critical reassessment of the links between politics, moral claims and science. 

Editor: Gunn Hilde Garte, Contact address: gunn.hilde.garte@svt.ntnu.no, Updated: 21.03.2005.