User:Vsreeves/Kissidougou

Deforestation Narrative

Fairhead and Leach bring light to an alternative history of the landscape of Kissidougou, once believed to be a semi-deciduous humid forest but is now primarily savanna. This narrative was based on the opinions and assumptions of foreign scientists a policy makers bring to the land their field knowledge, but lacking the historical perspective of Kissidougou landscape or people. They deem the land to be degraded and follow their assumptions to imply that the inhabitants had themselves deteriorated it's natural forest architecture due to their mismanagement and lack of education on proper land preservation techniques. The remaining savanna lies between 'islands' of forests which border villages which social analysts believe were conserved as protective barriers from natural elements in order to maintain the inhabitants' crops, and for seclusion in performing secret ritual ceremonies. This assumed deforestation has led outsiders to call for policy change in order to restore the land's natural form and to protect it from those who live within its bounds. These onlookers have gone so far as to write theories regarding the possible social history of the land leading to it’s deforestation. French botanist Auguste Chevalier theorizes that it was “greater movement and trade” which increased fire setting and devastated the land. These assumptions are reinforced as fact in Kissidougou education systems, administration and through policy changes implemented to reverse the assumed damage and prevent any more excessive burning and habitat loss.

This deforestation narrative shifts when Fairhead and Leach pose a counter argument suggesting that none of the previously mentioned conceptions were based on real history or fact. When vegetation analysis of the land was investigated, aerial photographs of the land from years prior show that the composition of the land has remained relatively stable, despite the popular conviction of it’s degradation. In addition to photographs, oral history and accounts of daily life also allude to this point: the land has always looked this way. Actually, according to evidence, the forest islands were established by natives in a landscape that was once all savannah, rather than the savannah being a result of deforestation. Fairhead et. al. attempt to reconstruct the perceptions of historians, local policy makers, and readers, and invite them to look at the history of a place and its inhabitants from a different perspective. One proposed reconception being, local land use can enrich and sustain the landscape. Natives may adapt the environment to fit the structure of their lives, but the assumption that their practices are misinformed is itself presuming and requires further investigation. Fairhead and Leach make the point that policy should be enacted to empower local land owners in their already established management practices rather than undermining the social structures rooted within the land and it’s communities.