158
7
how many animals a defined grazing area can sustain). The success of succession
theory as a management tool is therefore more a result of a bureaucratic and political
need for quantifiable parameters rather than being an expression of universally
accepted scientific conclusions (Sayre 2017).
It was only in the 1970s and 1980s that succession theory started to be challenged
by alternative ideas about ecosystems, especially in drylands, and how they are
unstable and not in equilibrium, contrary to what Clements’ theory said. It is
therefore meaningless to define a carrying capacity in such systems. This
non-equilibrium theory was developed based on ecological research in Australia,
Israel and Africa. In addition, anthropologists and economists, who studied pastoral
societies in Africa, played an important role in formulating the theory (Sayre 2017).
This theory development culminated with a conference in Woburn in England in
1990, which resulted in a seminal book (Behnke et al. 1993) that has become a
standard reference on non-equilibrium theory used on pastoral areas.
Today, most researchers on pastoral systems agree that succession theory (or
equilibrium theory) gives a good description of processes in temperate grazing
systems, but that non-equilibrium theory better captures the dynamics in areas with
more seasonal and annual variations, in particular Tropical drylands, but also for
instance cold mountainous areas and the Arctic.
Pasture management in the USA has since this scientific paradigm shift in the
1990s adopted these new ideas (Sayre 2017). This management is in addition inspired
by ideas about adaptive management (Walters and Holling 1990) based on a stepwise
and flexible approach in contrast to forms of top-down management associated with
how succession theory tends to be implemented. However, in most other parts of the
world, succession theory and the modernization discourse dominate policy
formulation.
In this chapter, we will present a few such examples—from African drylands as
well as from reindeer husbandry in the Arctic. In particular, we will discuss two main
arguments about the environmental impact and economic contribution of pastoral
systems, which are the key assumptions behind the modernization discourse about
pastoralism.
First, pastoral policies are generally guided by the idea that pastoralism tends to
result in overgrazing if left out of the state’s control. Second, pastoral production is
often claimed to be inefficient, unproductive and contribute little to national
economies. We will take a closer look at these arguments and the critique against
them. In this way, this chapter also discusses two classical themes in political
ecology—degradation and marginalization.
7.1 Debates About Overgrazing
The paradigm shift in range science from equilibrium to non-equilibrium ecology
that started in the 1990s has also inspired a new flexibility discourse about pastoralism. In an African context, it emphasizes that African savannas have a high resilience. In other words, the natural environment has an inherent ability to recover
Chapter 7 · Pastoralists and the State
7
how many animals a defined grazing area can sustain). The success of succession
theory as a management tool is therefore more a result of a bureaucratic and political
need for quantifiable parameters rather than being an expression of universally
accepted scientific conclusions (Sayre 2017).
It was only in the 1970s and 1980s that succession theory started to be challenged
by alternative ideas about ecosystems, especially in drylands, and how they are
unstable and not in equilibrium, contrary to what Clements’ theory said. It is
therefore meaningless to define a carrying capacity in such systems. This
non-equilibrium theory was developed based on ecological research in Australia,
Israel and Africa. In addition, anthropologists and economists, who studied pastoral
societies in Africa, played an important role in formulating the theory (Sayre 2017).
This theory development culminated with a conference in Woburn in England in
1990, which resulted in a seminal book (Behnke et al. 1993) that has become a
standard reference on non-equilibrium theory used on pastoral areas.
Today, most researchers on pastoral systems agree that succession theory (or
equilibrium theory) gives a good description of processes in temperate grazing
systems, but that non-equilibrium theory better captures the dynamics in areas with
more seasonal and annual variations, in particular Tropical drylands, but also for
instance cold mountainous areas and the Arctic.
Pasture management in the USA has since this scientific paradigm shift in the
1990s adopted these new ideas (Sayre 2017). This management is in addition inspired
by ideas about adaptive management (Walters and Holling 1990) based on a stepwise
and flexible approach in contrast to forms of top-down management associated with
how succession theory tends to be implemented. However, in most other parts of the
world, succession theory and the modernization discourse dominate policy
formulation.
In this chapter, we will present a few such examples—from African drylands as
well as from reindeer husbandry in the Arctic. In particular, we will discuss two main
arguments about the environmental impact and economic contribution of pastoral
systems, which are the key assumptions behind the modernization discourse about
pastoralism.
First, pastoral policies are generally guided by the idea that pastoralism tends to
result in overgrazing if left out of the state’s control. Second, pastoral production is
often claimed to be inefficient, unproductive and contribute little to national
economies. We will take a closer look at these arguments and the critique against
them. In this way, this chapter also discusses two classical themes in political
ecology—degradation and marginalization.
7.1 Debates About Overgrazing
The paradigm shift in range science from equilibrium to non-equilibrium ecology
that started in the 1990s has also inspired a new flexibility discourse about pastoralism. In an African context, it emphasizes that African savannas have a high resilience. In other words, the natural environment has an inherent ability to recover
Chapter 7 · Pastoralists and the State