The Political Ecology of Dambo Soil and Water Resources in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Current patterns of natural resource use in developing countries reflect both the structural demands of the national and international economy and local interactions between rural communities and their natural environments. The example of small-scale cultivation of Zimbabwe's dambo wetlands is used to show how political economy may be integrated with environment in studies of soil and water resource utilisation. Reference is made to the results of field investigations into the use of dambo wetlands in three of Zimbabwe's Communal Areas. These studies indicate that catenary variations in soil type were ignored under legislation restricting dambo cultivation during the colonial era. There remain important variations both within and between areas in response to the measures imposed by the colonial state, which are reflected today in different intensities of resource use.