To complement the recent series of blogs on conservation and development issues in the southeast Lowveld of Zimbabwe, I thought readers might be interested in a recent piece I wrote for the PASTRES blog based on a visit to Laikipia … Continue reading → …
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ZimbabweLand
Conservation conflicts: land use in Zimbabwe’s Lowveld
The conservation of biodiversity in places where people also live and farm is not straightforward. The last three blogs have offered some perspectives on the dilemmas faced in the southeast Lowveld of Zimbabwe, and this blog offers an overview. The … Continue reading → …
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Failing institutions: the challenge of governing natural resources in Zimbabwe
The much-lauded book, Why Nations Fail, argued that sustained economic progress only occurs when institutions work. This means enforcement of legal rules, clear secure access to land, regulations that are transparent, bureaucracies that function and of course – emerging out … Continue reading → …
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Protected areas: national assets or shared heritage?
What are the roles of protected areas in national development? Are parks national, even global, assets preserved for posterity and for protecting biodiversity, or are they part of a shared, local heritage, where nature and human use must be seen … Continue reading → …
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The trouble with elephants: why limits on culling are bad for conservation
Elephants are some of the most majestic animals in African savannahs, but they can also be the most destructive. This is witnessed dramatically if you travel to Gonarezhou National Park (appropriately, the ‘place of the elephants’) in the far southeast … Continue reading → …
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Health workers on the front-line: experiences from rural Zimbabwe
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 (the first case recorded in Zimbabwe was on 20 March 2020), health professionals in clinics and hospitals have been on the front-line of Zimbabwe’s response. In the last few weeks, while … Continue reading → …
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NEW BOOK: Researching Land Reform in Zimbabwe
Researching Land Reform in Zimbabwe is a new book compiling 20 articles our team has published over the last 20 years. All the chapters bar one have appeared as peer-reviewed journal articles, with the material covering the period from early … Continue reading → …
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‘Living under contract’: reflections after 25 years
Contract farming in different forms has become increasingly common in farming systems across the world, not least in Zimbabwe, but does it benefit smallholder farmers or exploit them? Contract farming rose to prominence globally as a proposed solution to ‘market … Continue reading → …
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Omicron for Christmas: what was the experience in rural Zimbabwe?
Guwini open air market, Chikombezi The Omicron wave peaked in Zimbabwe just before Christmas. With people moving about for the festive season and large numbers coming back from South Africa and elsewhere for the holidays, the fear was that the … Continue reading → …
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As Omicron sweeps through Zimbabwe, how are people responding?
It was just a few weeks ago that our last report noted the arrival of a new variant identified in South Africa. In the interim Omicron has swept through the country. This initially resulted in panic, with a rush to … Continue reading → …
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