BOOK REVIEWS 127further stage of its enterprise, a large Shona dictionary, making muchmore use of the information stored, and a medium-sized Ndebeledictionary, similar to that which we have been reviewing. In the words ofDuramazwi ReChishona, we can say: "Mazviita, musanete namangwana!(Thank you for what you have done! Keep it up, tomorrow as well!)England GEORGE FORTUNEEnvironmental Security In Southern Africa, Edited by Daniel Tevera andSam Moyo, Harare, SARIPS, 2000, ISBN 1-77905-101-8, 236 pp.Environmental Security in Southern Africa is a compilation of selectedpapers presented at the SAPES Trust Colloquium on RegionalEnvironmental Security and Natural Resources held In 1998. Consisting of13 articles grouped In four sections under the following themes:Environmental Security Frameworks, Land Use, Water Conflicts andInsecurity and Cross-Cutting Issues, the book seeks "to provide a coherenttreatment of key themes in relation to contemporary environmentalsecurity In the region".The first section on Environment Security Frameworks contains papersby Sam Moyo and Daniel Tevera, Meena Singh and Backson Slbanda.Moyo and Tevera's paper, 'Regional Environmental Security In SouthernAfrica', opens with an observation that, hitherto, the study ofenvironmental security has been an "eclectic and multldlacipllnary effortInformed by a variety of analytic perspectives'. It contends that what Isneeded Is a multl-factoral approach to understanding the various social,economic, ecological and political Influences on the demand, utilizationand management of natural resources. Such an approach, It Is argued, isbest suited to providing solutions to environmental conflict In the region.Meena Singh's paper, entitled 'Environmental (In) security: Loss ofIndigenous Knowledge and Environmental Degradation In Africa1 analysesland and environmental development and conservation strategies amongthe Afar of Ethiopia and Basuto of Lesotho and highlights two criticalfactors in environmental security. These are: a historical perspective toenvironmental Insecurity, famine and poverty In Africa, and the need tofuse local Indigenous knowledge systems to build sustainableenvironmental security. Singh concludes that the state's "imposition ofconservation measures upon an unconsulted rural farming communitywas at beat unsuccessful and at worst harmful to the environment".In 'Community Participation: NGOs and IGOs in Nature Management'Backson Slbanda argues that the era of liberalization and globalizationhas brought to the fore Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) and128 BOOK REVIEWSInter-Governmental Organizations (IGO) in nature management,environmental security and community participation in resourceutilization and management. Sibanda criticizes some NGOs and IGOs,such the Environmental Investigations Agency and African WildlifeFoundation for lacking "moral integrity and concern for the people" beingprimarily concerned with the welfare of animals and practising "eco-colonialism". He argues that "the way forward" is endogenous communitymanagement of natural resources under their own terms with or withoutthe international community and NGOs/IGOs.Section Two focuses on land issues and contains papers by SamMoyo, Alice Mongwe and Daniel Tevera, Gilbert Mudenda and ProsperMatondi. In "The Land Question and Land Reform in Southern Africa"Moyo provides an overview of the land question and land reform processesin Southern Africa as well as highlighting two strategies for land policyreform. These are: the promotion of freehold land tenure in place ofcommunal tenure systems and the expansion of commercial farmingthrough market forces. He identifies the key problems associated withland issues as, inter alia, discriminatory and insecure forms of tenure,increasingly skewed land ownership and control structures, thejuxtaposition of patterns of overuse and under-utilization of land, andinequitable allocation of prime land to export-oriented production ratherthan to crops for the local market. A case in point is the position of theBasarwa people in Botswana. In "Land Rights of the Basarwa People inBotswana" Alice Mogwe and Daniel Tevera discuss the plight of theBasarwa and clearly demonstrate the effects of historical and currentinjustices over access to land and the dynamics of land claims and landrights. They show that the Basarwa have been displaced by variousregimes over time to make way for commercial ranching, tourism andmineral exploitation and argue that the process of restitution is "a thornyone", which the Government of Botswana seems reluctant to address.In his turn, Gilbert Mudenda, in "Cross-border White FarmerMigrations in Southern Africa: The Zambian Experience" discusses recentmigrations of white South African farmers into Zambia. Decrying this"invasion from the South", he warns of the potential problems that mightarise from the influx of such migrants who, in his own words, "are not asettler group but are largely transients who are in the country foropportunist gain". He also highlights the weaknesses of the post-colonialZambian State in the face of land and environmental issues, especially itsinability to withstand the influence of the developed countries, with theresult that, to all intents and purposes, "all major policy documents arewritten in Washington and merely printed and bound in Zambia by theGovernment printer to give them a local touch". Mudenda concludes byoffering some way out of the malaise in Zambia. He recommends thatBOOK REVIEWS 129Zambia needs "to learn from experiences of other countries such asSouth Africa on how to establish institutions that support local investment,institute radical reforms of its natural resource laws and stop takingwrong advice" from foreign multilateral agencies such as the IMF andWorld Bank.In "Access to Land and Water Resources in Zimbabwe's RuralEnvironment" Prosper Matondi provides a stimulating analysis of accessto land and water in rural Zimbabwe. His incisive discussion critiques thefocus on "conflict rather than synergies between people and theirorganizations" as shown in the case of Principe irrigation scheme inShamva where "decentralized rather than localized" systems continue toplague community based resource control and utilization mechanisms.Matondi provides "insight into how different types of conflicts impact onland resources" with dysfunctional institutions and underlines the needto strengthen community-based resource management institutions.Focussing on Water Conflict and Insecurity, Part Three of the bookhas four articles. In a paper entitled "Managing the Zambezi: The Need toBuild Water Institutions", Ashok Swain and Patrick Stalgren analyze thewater potential of the Zambezi River to provide the otherwise water-scarce Southern African region with adequate water resources. Theymake the important observation that, while disputes among the countriesof the region over water management and access may arise, such "waterdisputes will only be solved by cooperation and compromise, not by thestrict insistence on rules of law". In "Shared Water Resources and Conflicts:The Case of the Zambezi River Basin", Tabeth Matiza Chiuta maintainsthat an effective Integrated Water Resources Management relies on thethree pillars of politics, technical cooperation and development of viableinstitutions, while Peter Zhou's "The SADC Water Protocol" analyses theregional water management frameworks. The Protocol is based on theprinciple of "equitable and reasonable use of regional water" by theriparian states. It takes into cognizance the environmental security, legaland institutional policies, and water management at regional level.However, he argues that there is need for SADC countries to establishstructures and a detailed policy framework which takes into account theincreasing demand for water to meet food needs, environmental security,legal and environmental considerations and the need for cooperationamong riparian states.Lastly, in the paper, entitled "The Lesotho Highlands Water Project:Socio-Economic Impacts", Khabele Matlosa examines the various theorieson the role of big water projects on development. Drawing a distinctionbetween the neo-classical approach which "considers quantitative changesas crucial" and the political economy approach, which "gives pride ofplace to qualitative changes, without prejudice to quantitative changes",130 BOOK REVIEWSMatlosa indicates his preference for the latter. He argues that, while theeconomic significance of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, whoseconstruction was Informed by the neo-classical theory, Is indisputable,the full impact on local communities and environment are yet to be seen.The fourth part of the book delves Into the Cross-Cutting Issues.Daniel Tevera and Admos Chlmhowu's paper "Spatial DevelopmentInitiatives and Regional Integration In Southern Africa" examines thepossibilities of regional political stability and economic cooperation inlight of the "dialectic of growth and decline, wealth and poverty, urbanand rural" and the geography of "striking inequalities" among countries.Focussing on the Maputo Development Corridor, the paper documentsthe potential economic benefits and problems of distributing economic,environmental and social costs of SDI given the uneven stages ofdevelopment between South Africa and Mozambique. Vieria Lopes andPhillip Kundishora, In "The Southern African Power Pool: EconomicDependency or Self-sufficiency?" scrutinize regional energy cooperationand coordination. Given the dependency of SADC and SAPP on donorfunding, Lopes and Kundishora question whether the regional bodypromotes regional self-sufficiency or regional economic dependency onthe North. The answers to this question are multi-faceted given thecomplexity of the economic, political, environmental and political IssuesInvolved. Nonetheless, what Is clear to Lopes and Kundishora Is the needfor coordination among SAPP member countries to design and Implementenergy projects, follow adequate environmental standards, and, moreImportantly, set a regional agenda to meet the needs of the majority ofthe local population.Two major themes running through Environmental Security In SouthernAfrica are environmental problems resulting In actual and/or potentialconflict, and the need for endogenous-based solutions. Environmentalproblems and conflict are multlfaceted Š there Is Inequitable access toand distribution of natural, economic, social and political resources atthe local, national and regional levels. In addition, the liberalization andglobalization programmes, the weak local, national and regionalInstitutions, and the domineering multilateral institutions such as theWorld Bank, IMF, NGOs and IGOs confound resources Inequity andenvironmental conflict In Southern Africa. The book argues that a holisticapproach Is needed to analyze, understand and solve environmentalresource management and conflict. In the same vein, Institutions basedat the community, local, national and regional levels, which are lessreliant on outside factors and Institutions, are necessary for thedevelopment of coherent, cohesive and effective programmes ofenvironmental resources management In the region.BOOK REVIEWS 131Environmental Security in Southern Africa, successfully integratescontributions from various disciplines and presents a very usefulmuitidiscipiinary perspective which draws on such varied academic fieldsof study as economics, environmental studies, policy and planning,political economy, local and regional studies and peace and conflictstudies. It is an informative and analytic study, which makes a major
contribution to the on-going debate on environmental security issues inSouthern Africa. It is well illustrated with maps, tables and diagrams,which give the reader good supporting evidence on the issues that arecentral to the subject of the book. What is missing from the book, however,is a gendered analysis of these issues: an approach, which would haveenriched its contributions considerably. Nevertheless, the book is topical,timely, and very useful. It is highly recommended to development activists,
policy planners and decision makers, social anthropologists, ecologists,graduate students and academics.University of Zimbabwe EDMORE MUFEMA