Harrison and Mdee_2017_JPE.pdf (589.78 kB)
Successful small-scale irrigation or environmental destruction? The political ecology of competing claims on water in the Uluguru Mountains, Tanzania
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 05:31 authored by Elizabeth HarrisonElizabeth Harrison, Anna MdeeIn the Uluguru Mountains of Tanzania, an expansion in informal hosepipe irrigation by small-scale farmers has enabled the development of horticulture and resulted in improvements in farmers’ livelihoods. This has taken place largely independently of external support and can be seen as an example of the ‘private’ irrigation that is increasingly viewed as important for sub-Saharan Africa. However, these activities are seen by both representatives of government and some donors, as the cause of both environmental degradation and water shortages downstream, especially in the nearby city of Morogoro. As a result, there have been attempts to evict the farmers from the mountain. Negative narratives persist and the farmers on the mountainside are portrayed as a problem to be ‘solved’. This article explores these tensions, contributing to debates about the formalisation of water management arrangements and the place of the state in regulating and adjudicating rights to access water. We argue that a focus on legality and formalisation serves to obscure the political nature of competing claims on resources that the case illustrates.
Funding
Innovations to Promote Growth among Small-scale Irrigators in Africa: An Ethnographic and Knowledge-Exchange Approach; G0983; ESRC-ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL; ES/J009415/1
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Published version
Journal
Journal of Political EcologyISSN
1073-0451Publisher
University of Arizona LibrariesVolume
24Page range
406-424Department affiliated with
- Anthropology Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2017-03-21First Open Access (FOA) Date
2017-03-21First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2017-03-20Usage metrics
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