Naming the Land. San Identity and Community Conservation in Namibia’s West Caprivi, by Julie J. Taylor.

Naming the Land. San Identity and Community Conservation in Namibia’s West Caprivi, by Julie J. Taylor. ISBN 9783905758252 / ISBN 978-3-905758-25-2

Naming the Land. San Identity and Community Conservation in Namibia’s West Caprivi, by Julie J. Taylor. ISBN 9783905758252 / ISBN 978-3-905758-25-2

With Naming the Land. San Identity and Community Conservation in Namibia’s West Caprivi, Julie Taylor has written an extraordinary book about a distinctive part of southern Africa – a tongue of land between Angola and Botswana, straddling the watershed and floodplains of the Zambezi, an area on the political and economic margins of the subcontinent.

Julie J. Taylor  

The Fortunes and Fragility of Community Conservation: An Introduction

Julie Taylor has written an extraordinary book about a distinctive part of southern Africa, the Caprivi in Namibia. A tongue of land between Angola and Botswana, straddling the watershed and floodplains of the Zambezi, it is an area on the political and economic margins of the subcontinent. Yet it has natural riches, not least wildlife. Caprivi is also the terrain of Khwe or Bushmen communities and some innovative NGOs. Dr Taylor spent an extended period interviewing in this region, sometimes pitching her tent during heavy rains in zones frequented by elephants. She walked in the bush, worked on collecting and identifying usable plants, and participated in counting wildlife. She was observed as well as an observer, when Namibian intelligence officers became concerned about the political implications of her research and NGO activity in the area. Her adventure and commitment have produced rich evidence and, in some senses, an unusually optimistic analysis of an impoverished and marginal rural area. The focus of this book, initially a doctoral thesis,1 is the Khwe. In the period of South African rule they were largely off the map, subordinate to African communities and the South African state in Namibia. During the border war between South Africa and SWAPO, many Khwe from Angola and Namibia were employed by the South African army. This led some to choose the option of leaving for South Africa when Namibia became independent in 1990. But the majority stayed. While they initially had a difficult time in post-colonial Namibia, their position has improved in recent years. Some of their territory is a wildlife reserve in which they have been allowed to stay. This is unusual in an African context; many national parks and reserves have been emptied of their people. As an indigenous community they have attracted attention from a successful and ambitious NGO. This external agency has worked with them to discover and promote their local knowledge. The Namibian government has eventually allowed them certain rights to wildlife within a national park. The central argument of the book is that significant numbers of this marginal community have been able to take advantage of this opportunity. They are able to work with the NGO to generate income. And they have responded by asserting their identity more strongly both in national terms and in relation to the minority Bantu-speaking African population in the area, the Mbukushu. They have also formed new institutions, including a semi-elected traditional authority, as well as the Kyaramacan Trust to manage their rights to, and benefits from, wildlife. In many respects this is a positive and hopeful outcome. A marginalized group has succeeded in connecting with international and national organisations, asserted their rights and thus empowered themselves. Revenues from community conservation were beginning to flow in 2006. To be sure there are many internal problems and conflicts, and it is by no means certain that these can be effectively managed. But there is evidence that with the support of strong and committed NGOs, the process will continue. Julie Taylor is cautious about their turn of fortune, always aware of the poverty of the Khwe community, and the fragility of this outcome. [...]

This is an excerpt from the book: Naming the Land. San Identity and Community Conservation in Namibia’s West Caprivi, by Julie J. Taylor.

Title: Naming the Land
Subtitle: San Identity and Community Conservation in Namibia’s West Caprivi
Author: Julie J. Taylor
Series: Basel Namibia Studies Series 12
Publisher: Basler Afrika Bibliographien
Basel, 2012
ISBN 9783905758252 / ISBN 978-3-905758-25-2
Softcover, 17x24 cm, 280 pages, images, maps, tables, index

Taylor, Julie J. im Namibiana-Buchangebot

Naming the Land. San Identity and Community Conservation in Namibia’s West Caprivi

Naming the Land. San Identity and Community Conservation in Namibia’s West Caprivi

Naming the Land is a study about San Identity and Community Conservation in Namibia’s West Caprivi.

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