. Today, COP17 of the UNCCD (UN Convention to Combat Desertification) kicks off in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Top of the agenda is how to manage rangelands that support millions of pastoralists worldwide in sustainable ways. 2026 is the International Year of … Continue reading → …
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ZimbabweLand
Savory tales: controversies from the Zimbabwean bush
Allan Savory’s memoir has recently been published – UnSavory: African Stories of Wildlife, War, and the Birth of Holistic Management. It’s a fascinating read. Full of Rhodesian derring-do but some important reflections on the value of field ecology and the … Continue reading → …
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Zimbabweans flee xenophobic violence in South Africa. What next?
The recent xenophobic violence in South Africa has caused a mass exodus of migrants from the country, including to Zimbabwe. The protests organised by March and March and Operation Dudula, two outfits pushing an anti-immigrant line, have resulted in fear … Continue reading → …
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Reflections by land reform farmers in Zimbabwe: a series of short video interviews
Five of the participants of the exchange visit tour, which was covered in the film in the last blog, offered their reflections on land reform after 25 years, highlighting in particular the difference between now and when they lived in … Continue reading → …
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Learning lessons about Zimbabwe’s land reform: a short film on the farmer exchange visits
In May 2025, we invited participants from our research to visit each others’ sites. Four people – two men and two women – from each our four sites – Mvurwi, Matobo, Gutu and Masvingo – were chosen by the communities. … Continue reading → …
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China, Brazil and African agriculture: what has changed?
A decade ago, a group of us published a Special Issue of the journal World Development discussing the results of collaborative research undertaken through the ESRC-funded ‘China and Brazil in African Agriculture’ project. The project looked at the imprint of … Continue reading → …
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Inspirations in an age of uncertainty
Last year I wrote a ‘long read’ Insights piece for The Conversation drawing on my book, Navigating Uncertainty, and highlighting some of the case studies where inspiration can be drawn in addressing some of the key challenges of our turbulent, … Continue reading → …
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The politics of land use change over 25 years in Zimbabwe
The gaze from space is very seductive. Satellite image analysis seems to dominate land use systems science these days and certainly the technologies available have far outstripped the careful analysis of air photos with optical steroscopes and chinagraph pencils. But … Continue reading → …
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“We can’t talk of the environment without taking about the local leadership” Why politics matter when thinking about land use change in Zimbabwe
Participatory discussions on land use and environmental change were undertaken in our Masvingo sites in early May 2026. These were conducted in three A1 farms, namely Wondedzo Wares, Wondedzo Extension and Sanangwe in Masvingo district. The discussion of the satellite … Continue reading → …
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Environmental change in a fragile ecosystem: challenges after land reform in Zimbabwe
Continuing our investigation of environmental change, a further participatory discussion on land use and environmental change was undertaken with a group of 15 farmers from Clare and Lonely farms in Gutu district, consisting of both men and women. As in … Continue reading → …
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