Interface Between Research, Development and Local Actors in Enhancing Sustainable Forest Resources Management: Lessons from Chimanimani District, Zimbabwe

Environmental sustainability is a key area of focus in academic and development circles mainly because of the role that the environment plays in sustaining livelihoods. For sustainable environmental stewardship to occur in areas such as forest, land and water management, it is generally accepted that different actors must interface. This paper analyses the interface that took place between academic researchers, development practitioners, district institutional actors and local communities in a project that aimed at enhancing forest resources management in Chimanimani district of Zimbabwe. The paper notes that in order to involve and accommodate the interests of the various actors, methodologies used included quantitative and qualitative action research strategies as well as participatory geographic information systems approach. The project analysed the state of forest resources, impact of human migrations on forests, contribution of forest resources to livelihoods, and related governance systems. This enabled all the actors involved to devise strategies aimed at enhancing sustainable forest resources management through the formation and strengthening of appropriate local institutions, legislation awareness, and enhancement of livelihood activities based on exploitation of forest resources. The paper concludes by stressing that the social interface of different actors, though complex, is not only necessary but crucial in enhancing sustainable forest management

Patriarchy, women, land and livelihoods on A1 farms in Zimbabwe

In this article, we focus on patriarchy, women, land and livelihoods on A1 farms in Zimbabwe which arose from the fast track land reform programme. There is now significant literature on A1 farms in Zimbabwe. These studies include a number of ethnographic and comparative studies but this literature does not give sustained attention to patriarchy and women. In addition, though, a small number of works have appeared based upon a more focused gender analysis. We draw upon this more focused literature and offer fresh fieldwork evidence based on recent studies undertaken by two of the authors, in Goromonzi and Mazowe districts. At times, radical socio-spatial reorganisation such as fast track may destabilise systems of patriarchy. In the case of fast track, there has been a reconfiguration of relations between men and women yet this is uneven and contradictory and remains within the confines of patriarchal structures, practices and discourses. At the same time, women have manoeuvred and negotiated at local levels to enhance their lives and livelihoods

The party-state in the land occupations of Zimbabwe: the case of Shamva district

There has been significant debate about the land occupations which occurred from the year 2000 in Zimbabwe, with a key controversy concerning the role of the state and ruling party (or party-state) in the occupations. This controversy, deriving from two grand narratives about the occupations, remains unresolved. A burgeoning literature exists on the Zimbabwean state’s fast-track land reform programme, which arose in the context of the occupations, but this literature is concerned mainly with post-occupation developments on fast-track farms. This article seeks to contribute to resolving the controversy surrounding the party-state and the land occupations by examining the occupations in the Shamva District of Mashonaland Central Province. The fieldwork for our Shamva study focused exclusively on the land occupations (and not on the fast-track farms) and was undertaken in May 2015. We conclude from our Shamva study that involvement by the party-state did not take on an institutionalised form but was of a personalised character entailing interventions by specific party and state actors