Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
them (Kjekshus, 1996). Rinderpest was introduced into Northern Africa
by Europeans and spread into East Africa, decimating cattle populations.
The Maasai were particularly hard hit. It is estimated that approximately
90 per cent of their cattle were killed and two-thirds of the Maasai popula-
tion died from famine and disease as a result (Ilif e, 1979; Homewood and
Rogers 1991; Kjekshus, 1996; Koponen, 1996). The spread of rinderpest
was also accompanied by epidemics of smallpox and inl uenza, among
other human diseases, which served to reduce the numbers of people still
further. Many areas that had been used for cultivation or livestock were
deserted as people died or left in search of food. This depopulation allowed
the expansion of miombo woodland and wildlife numbers increased. The
distribution of the tsetse l y, which carries sleeping sickness, also expanded
as its woodland habitat increased (Coulson, 1976). The spread of tsetse l y
made once inhabited areas no longer suitable for settlement.
This process of decoupling continued into the colonial era where socio-
political change created by war and conl ict contributed to depopulation.
German colonial rule was characterized by tribal war and resistance. For
example, during Maji Maji
1
and its aftermath, the largest and most wide-
spread resistance to the colonial government, it is estimated that some
250 000 people were killed (Ilif e, 1979). As a result of depopulation large
areas of Tanzania became uninhabited and were appropriated by the state
for plantations or wildlife reserves. Many areas that had been used for
livestock grazing or cultivation were now no longer available to local pop-
ulations. Further reductions in population occurred during the two World
Wars when many local people were forced into labour for both the British
and German armies, and food appropriated for the armies contributed to
widespread famine (Brooke, 1967).
Even during the relatively peaceful British colonial rule following World
War II the decoupling of the people-environment relationship continued.
People were moved and concentrated into villages in order to facilitate
greater socioeconomic control. The process of indirect rule through
tribal chiefs advocated by the British also led to social upheaval as power
through tribal leadership was contested. The process of land appropria-
tion for wildlife reserves and plantations continued as the British govern-
ment sought to control the resources of Tanzania as well as its people. All
these factors together meant that the relationship between communities
and their environment was disrupted. For example, the area now covered
by the Selous Game Reserve was once densely populated. Depopulation
due to disease and war led to widespread woodland encroachment and
expansion of tsetse l y. The population who were left were scattered in
small, mobile communities. People were concentrated into villages so that
the district government could have greater socioeconomic control and the
