This book examines tropical resource management in West Africa. Drawing widely on field examples, it argues that more account should be taken of ecological conditions and indigenous land-use methods in decision-making about tropical management projects.

Indigenous soil and water conservation practices are rarely acknowledged in the design of conventional development projects. Instead, the history of soil and water conservation in Africa has been one of imposing external solutions without regard for local practice. There is a remarkably diverse range of locally developed and adapted technologies for the conservation of water and soil, well suited to their particular site and socio-economic conditions. But such measures have been ignored, and sometimes even overturned, by external solutions. Sustaining the Soil documents farmers' practices, exploring the origins and adaptations carried out by farmers over generations, in response to changing circumstances. Through a comparative analysis of conservation measures - from the humid zones of West Africa to the arid lands of the Sudan, from rock terraces in Morocco to the grass strips of Swaziland - the book explores the various factors that influence adoption and adaptation; farmers' perceptions of conservation needs; and the institutional and policy settings most favorable to more effective land husbandry. For the first time on an Africa-wide scale, this book shows that indigenous techniques work, and are being used successfully to conserve and harvest soil and water. These insights combine to suggest new ways forward for governments and agencies attempting to support sustainable land management in Africa, involving a fusion of traditional and modern approaches, which makes the most of both the new and the old.

Africa is fast becoming an investment destination for firms operating outside the continent, and effective management is central to the realization of organizational goals. This volume evaluates the need for management philosophies and theories that reflect the peculiarities of the African continent.

It is increasingly recognized that land can be managed most sustainably through involving local communities. This book highlights the potential of a new methodology of uncovering and stimulating community initiatives in sustainable land management in Africa. Analyses of four contrasting African countries (Ghana, Morocco, South Africa and Uganda) show that as communities directly face the challenges of land degradation, they are likely to develop initiatives themselves in terms of sustainable land management. These initiatives (or ‘innovations’) may be more appropriate and sustainable than those emanating from research stations located far from the communities. The book describes the rationale of the approach used, the set of steps followed, how the project managed to engage the communities to understand the importance of the activities they were undertaking, and how they were stimulated to improve and extend their initiatives and innovativeness. Examples covered include soil fertility, community forestry, afforestation, water, invasive species and grazing land management. Central to the book is the way communities, and scientists, interacted between the four countries and learnt from each other. The book also shows how the initiatives were outscaled locally.

Indigenous Conflict Management Strategies in West Africa:Beyond Right and Wrong expands the discourse on indigenous knowledge. With several examples and case histories, the work defines, characterizes, and explains indigenous conflict management strategies in West Africa, particularly in Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon. The book critically evaluates indigenous conflict management strategies with a view to determining their effectiveness in the context of the societies’ history and culture, and the relevance and adaptability of these strategies in contemporary contexts. This book takes a scholarly approach, avoiding romanticizing or idealizing indigenous conflict management strategies in West Africa. It advocates a set of mechanisms by which the best elements of indigenous knowledge and skills in conflict management may be deployed to settle contemporary disputes, and made portable for adoption and adaptation by other complex societies in the region and beyond.

Land, Indigenous Peoples and Conflict presents an original comparative study of indigenous land and property rights worldwide. The book explores how the ongoing constitutional, legal and political integration of indigenous peoples into contemporary society has impacted on indigenous institutions and structures for managing land and property. This book details some of the common problems experienced by indigenous peoples throughout the world, providing lessons and insights from conflict resolution that may find application in other conflicts including inter-state and civil and sectarian conflicts. An interdisciplinary group of contributors present specific case material from indigenous land conflicts from the South Pacific, Australasia, South East Asia, Africa, North and South America, and northern Eurasia. These regional cases discuss issues such as modernization, the evolution of systems and institutions regulating land use, access and management, and the resolution of indigenous land conflicts, drawing out common problems and solutions. The lessons learnt from the book will be of value to students, researchers, legal professionals and policy makers with an interest in land and property rights worldwide.