Misreading a pastoral property regime in the Logone floodplain, Cameroon
January 1, 2017 - Moritz, Mark
Print
EmailJournal or Book Title: ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY
Abstract: This is a response to an article by Haller et al. (2013) in Ecology and Society titled How fit turns into misfit and back: institutional transformations of pastoral commons in African floodplains. In this response, I argue that Haller et al.'s description of the pastoralists' management of common-pool grazing resources in the Logone floodplain of Cameroon is incorrect in a number of ways. I summarize the findings from our longitudinal and interdisciplinary study to show that current pastoralists' management of common-pool grazing resources in the floodplain is efficient, equitable, and sustainable. Specifically, ecological research contradicts Haller et al.'s proposition that resource degradation is due to overgrazing in a situation of open access. This is an important point to clarify because pastoralists are often wrongly accused of overgrazing the range.
Type of Publication: Article
