Power Dynamics in African Forests

Symphorien Ongolo is researcher in political science at the French national institute for sustainable development (IRD – France), University Paul-Valéry of Montpellier.Max Krott is professor of international forest policy at the University of Göttingen, Germany and the founding editor of the international academic journal Forest Policy & Economics.

"A thoughtful and insightful collection of essays on power, its multiple dimensions and how it is exercised in African forests. This is a well-researched, fascinating and persuasive volume that will be an invaluable aid to students, foresters and policy makers throughout Africa and beyond."Professor David Humphreys, The Open University, UK"This book is a very relevant and timely contribution to the forest governance literature. While most of it holds a rather managerial and technocratic focus, this book starts from a political-economic perspective, with much emphasis on power dynamics and resource inequalities. Such a perspective is all the more relevant in the context of post/neo-colonial relationships between Africa and the global North, and in the context of authoritarian regimes on the continent. By offering several country case studies (e.g. Cameroon; DRC; Tanzania) and by analyzing several current themes (e.g. the role of science in conservation; the permanence of ‘paper parks’; the political economy of rosewood), the book draws attention to Africa, where most governance literatures addressing tropical forests focus on South-America or Asia."Bas Arts, Professor in Forest Governance, Wageningen University & Research, the Netherlands"This rich collection case studies sheds light on forests and forestry as objects of colonial, post-colonial and continued neo-colonial struggles. Right up to the current era of climate change, the volume shows how dominant actors of globalization including Europe and China, along with domestic elites, continues to expropriate resources in the name of biodiversity conservation and carbon storage. When will this unequal struggle end? The book is a must-read for anyone interested in the political-economic context in which African forest management and conservation policy is made, implemented and undone. It is chocked full of new and exciting insights."Jesse Ribot, Professor, American University, Washington, D.C., USA

• General Introduction to The Politics of Global Sustainability in Africa: Power Dynamics in the Forests 1. Global Political Economy of Conservation Policies and Ecosystem Services in the Tropics 2. Empowering Scientific Information about Biodiversity by Linking Science with Forest Users in African Contexts 3. The Rise and Fall of Protected Areas in Central Africa: A Historical Perspective 4. Global China Effects and Domestic Politics of Rosewood in Africa: A Realist Review 5. Governing Independent Forest Monitoring from Theory to Empirical Evidence in the Congo Basin 6. ‘Arab Spring’ Transformations and the Contestation of State Authority in Forestland Use: A Power-Based Case Study in Tunisia 7. Biodiversity Governance and Regional Insurgencies in the Democratic Republic of Congo 8. Crises, Complexities and Claims in Protected Areas: Landscapes of (In) Coherent Biodiversity Governance and Social-Environmental Injustice in Southwest Cameroon 9. Linking Institutional Weaknesses to Deforestation Drivers in the Governance of Protected Areas in Madagascar 10. Local Deals for Global Politics: Governing Palm Oil Expansion in Areas of Limited Statehood 11. Policy Change and Power Dynamics: How Actors Respond to Participatory Forest Management across Multiple Scales in Tanzania Conclusion. Perspectives in Analysing Power Dynamics in Postcolonial Societies