Managing Linkages Between Communal Rangelands and Private Cropland in the Highlands of Eastern Africa: Contributions to Participatory Integrated Watershed Management

Abstract

Rapid cultural, political–economic, and environmental change in eastern Africa has strained traditional management systems that once provided for basic needs while largely maintaining ecosystem function. Rangelands are increasingly defined by decreased productivity, water resource degradation, and conflict. Seasonal shifts between restricted and open access and communal and private property regimes create strong functional linkages that define problems and shape solutions. This article presents experiences in managing linkages between rangeland and other resources in the context of participatory integrated watershed management. Ethnohistorical research highlights disturbing trends in natural resource degradation and their impact on rangeland resources and livelihoods. Action research findings point to the nature of interventions required to ameliorate trends and related outcomes. The article illustrates the need for explicit recognition of the linkages between property regimes, user groups, and disciplines and illustrates the relevance of collective action theory to solving problems associated with individual property and interactions between tenure regimes.