Prosperity, conservation and development in rural Tanzania

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Two new groundbreaking books on development in Tanzania, both based on fieldwork and both written by development researchers, have recently been published. Some authors have contributed to both books. We find that the two books complement each other well, one focusing on prosperity and the other on conservation, and therefore present them during this double-book launch.

Prosperity in Rural Africa? brings together the expertise of a collection of researchers with decades of experience of working in Tanzania, all of whom faced a deceptively simple task: go back to your study sites, to the places you know well, and to the families you first visited and then describe, and try to explain, the changes that you see. The result is a fascinating compilation of historical insights and experience into the dynamics of rural societies in Tanzania, which highlights the importance of investment in assets for rural peoples and their success in doing so.

Contested Sustainability: The Political Ecology of Conservation and Development in Tanzania examines sustainability partnerships, their effectiveness, and the forms of sustainability they produce. A group of seasoned researchers analyze the governance of sustainability of forestry, wildlife and coastal resources. The book assesses whether co-management with local communities and private and civil society actors - and putatively more participatory processes in the governance of renewable resources - result in more equitable and sustainable livelihoods and environmental outcomes. 

Programme
13.30-13.40     Welcome, Esbern Friis-Hansen
13.40-13.55     Prosperity in Rural Africa. Insights into Wealth, Assets and Poverty from Longitudinal Studies in Tanzania, Dan Brockington and Christine Noe
13.55-14.05     Improved Livelihoods on Less Land: The Case of Ilambilole and Ikuvala Villages in Iringa Region, 1996-2017, Torben Birch Thomsen
14.05-14.15     Rural and Agrarian Transformation 1984-2018 in Three Marginal Villages in Njombe Region, Esbern Friis-Hansen
14.15-14.30     Discussant intervention, Knud Vilby

14.30-14.45     Coffee break

14.45-15.00     Contested sustainability: the political ecology of conservation and development in Tanzania, Christine Noe and Stefano Ponte
15.00-15.10     Sustainability Partnerships in the Forestry Sector in South-
east Tanzania, Pilly Silvano and Mette Fog Olwig
15.10-15.20     The Governance Complexity of Sustainability Partnerships, Faraja Namkesa and Lasse Folke Henriksen
15.20-15.35     Discussant intervention, Mikkel Funder
15.35-16.00     Q&A, moderated by Esbern Friis-Hansen
16.00                 Reception

Speakers
Esbern Friis-Hansen is Senior Researcher at the Department of Natural Resources and Development, Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS). Esbern has experience with development research and consultancy focusing on smallholder agricultural development and political economy of natural resource management in East and southern Africa.

Dan Brockington is an ICREA Research Professor at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. He leads an ERC project exploring Conservation Data Justice.

Torben Birch-Thomsen is Associate Professor at the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, Section of Geography, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Trained as a human geographer his research interest’s fall within the fields of environmental and socioeconomic effects of land use change and intensification. Particular interests are within the relations between livelihood strategies of rural communities, farming system, land use changes, and rural-urban linkages with special reference to East, West, and southern African conditions.

Christine Noe is Associate Professor and Principal of the College of Social Sciences at the University of Dar es Salaam. She trained for her PhD at the University of Cape Town where she graduated in 2009. Her research and teaching are mostly on conservation and development politics, land tenure and rights, and rural livelihood changes.

Stefano Ponte is Professor of International Political Economy at Copenhagen Business School. He is primarily interested in economic and environmental governance, with focus on overlaps and tensions between private governance and public regulation.

Mikkel Funder is Senior Researcher at the Department of Natural Resources and Development, Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS). Mikkel has recently published on nature based solutions as adaptation to climate change.

Knud Vilby is a widely aclaimed journalist, author and consultant with strong interest in global development, including poverty and environment.  Knud has served in in board of many Danish NGOs, including Action Aid, DanChurchAid and IWGIA.

Mette Fog Olwig is Associate Professor of International Development, Roskilde University. Her research centers on the social and political dimensions of climate change, natural disasters, sustainability, natural resource management and the development sector. She leads a Sapere Aude project on youth movements, global discourses and local sustainable development.

Lasse Folke Henriksen is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the Copenhagen Business School. He studies the role of social networks in equipping actors to act collectively and attain power and influence. His substantive interests include: corporate elite networks and their political consequences; the antecedents and consequences of policy networks in international environmental and climate governance; labor market networks and new inequalities; and the historical role of experts and professions in national and transnational policy arenas. 

Pilly Silvano is a Lecturer in the Department of Geography, University of Dar es Salaam, where she has recently completed her PhD. She also holds an MA in Geography from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Her areas of interest are gender,community-based natural resource governance, conservation, and sustainable forest management.

Faraja Daniel Namkesa is a Lecturer in the Department of Geography at the University of Dar es Salaam, where she has recently completed her PhD. She also holds an MA in Geography and Environmental Management. She is interested in sustainability and livelihoods, natural resource governance, and environment-related relocation processes.

Practical information
The seminar will be in English. Physical participation is free of charge, but registration is required. Please use our online registration form.

Livestream does not require registration. The video livestream will appear on this page just before the seminar starts.

Livestreamed on Monday 21 November, 2022, 13.30-16.00 at DIIS ∙ Danish Institute for International Studies