Zambezia (1993), XX (ii).BOOK REVIEWSInstitutional Dynamics in Communal Grazing Regimes in Southern Africa:Proceedings of a Workshop held at the University of Zimbabwe 10-12December 1990 Edited by B. Cousins. Harare, Univ. of Zimbabwe, Centrefor Applied Social Studies, 1992, 221 pp., ISBN 0-7974-1248-4, Z$55,00.Southern Africa has many arid and semi-arid regions where agro-pastoralproduction systems predominate among the indigenous peasantcommunities. Livestock forms an important part of the region's socio-economic fabric, providing inputs into arable production, an investmentoutlet for excess funds, a form of subsistence from milk and from occasionalslaughter, a source of cash from occasional commercial disposition, ameans of creating ties of dependency within families and in the community.They are also important for religious and cultural ceremonies. Because oftheir important role, farmers tend to increase and retain their herds atlevels which environmental scientists and extension workers regard asunsustainable because of overgrazing and environmental degradation. Forthis reason, the evolution of institutions for the conservation and manage-ment of grazing areas in the Communal Lands is an important issue in theregion.The book under review comprises papers which attempt to developa conceptual framework for communal grazing schemes (Cousins, pp.13-38), to make a case for the establishment of meaningful local-levelcommon property management institutions (Murombedzi, pp. 39-58),and review Zimbabwean and regional experiences of attempts to developfull-fledged communal grazing management systems (Mache and Chivizhe,pp. 59-71; Paradza, pp. 72-80; Cousins, pp. 81-125; Nhira, pp. 126-38;Paraiwa, pp. 139-56; Robins, pp. 157-88; Merafe, pp. 189-202; andMotsamai, pp. 203-21).The following general impressions may be inferred from thecontributions to this book:a) Current property regimes in the communal areas are held in commonrather than on an open access system which is contrary to con-ventional assumptions, including those of policy makers, as reflectedin Zimbabwe's national livestock policy of 1988.b) Interventions aimed at evolving full-fledged common propertymanagement institutions should appreciate the ecological, social,economic, and political make-up of the area under considerationrather than the use of models assumed to have universal applic-ability. These interventions should also call for the active participa-tion of the target communities, both in designing the institutionsand in their management.c) Current interventions by government departments such as AGRTTEX,non-governmental organizations such as World Vision, and donoragencies such as the EEC, are based on assumptions about theobjectives of livestock ownership and available grazing andappropriate institutions for their management which are contrary139140 BOOK REVIEWSto those held by the farmers concerned. This results in difficultiesof implementation and a wholesale disregard of the establishedrules of operation.d) Top-down planning is acceptable in those situations where it isperceived to generate material benefits in the form of funds fordevelopment projects which coincide with the target people'simmediate needs.The importance of this volume cannot be over-emphasized. The needfor strategies that lead to a sustainable use of natural resources is ofcurrent global concern. Given the importance of livestock in the socio-economic fabric of the communal areas of Southern Africa, this book doeswell to highlight attempts to evolve appropriate strategies for a moreeffective manager i?nt of common grazing regimes.University of Zimbabwe P. MAVIMAPeople, Land and Livestock: Proceedings of a Workshop on the Sodo-Economic Dimensions of livestock Production in the Communal Landsof Zimbabwe Edited by B. Cousins. Harare, Univ. of Zimbabwe, Centre forApplied Social Studies, 1989, 461 pp., Z$45,00.Official policy makers consider commercial off-take in Zimbabwe'scommunal areas as unacceptably low, hence their concern to formulate anational policy to improve the situation. Environmental scientists, on theother hand, view current stocking levels as excessive, leading to overgrazingand land degradation. Fenced-off grazing areas (paddocks) have beenestablished in an attempt to solve both problems. However, some of thecontributors to this book cast doubts on the feasibility of both commerciallivestock production and the promotion of conservation through the useof paddocks in the communal areas.The need for a national policy for enhanced commercial livestockproduction in the communal areas is based on an assumption that com-mercial livestock production is desired by the farmers concerned but iscurrently constrained, among other things, by inadequate grazing. Contraryto that assumption, research findings presented in this volume assert thatcommercial livestock production is not a dominant objective among farmersin the communal areas. Livestock, especially cattle, are valued more fortheir role in providing intermediate goods such as draught power andmanure for crop production and, albeit at very low levels, milk and meatfor local consumption or sale. Livestock also has socio-cultural purposes,especially in settling marriage deals, and cattle are very important forreligious purposes. Hence ownership of livestock is of great economic andcultural importance as it confers power, authority and social status.Parenthetically, those households or families that do not own livestockhave to adopt a variety of strategies, such as hiring, exchanging cattle forfield work or arranging work parties (nhimbe ), to ensure access to thedraught power of cattle (p. 267). The motivation among farmers in the