Tribes, state, and technology adoption in arid land management, Syria
Arid shrub-lands in Syria and elsewhere in West Asia and North Africa are widely thought degraded. Characteristic of these areas is a preponderance of unpalatable shrubs or a lack of overall ground cover with a rise in the associated risks of soil erosion. Migrating pastoralists have been the scapeg...
| Autores principales: | , , , , |
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| Formato: | Artículo preliminar |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
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International Food Policy Research Institute
2001
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/156710 |
| _version_ | 1855538638045052928 |
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| author | Rae, Jonathan Arab, Georges Nordblom, Thomas Jani, K. Gintzburger, Gustave |
| author_browse | Arab, Georges Gintzburger, Gustave Jani, K. Nordblom, Thomas Rae, Jonathan |
| author_facet | Rae, Jonathan Arab, Georges Nordblom, Thomas Jani, K. Gintzburger, Gustave |
| author_sort | Rae, Jonathan |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Arid shrub-lands in Syria and elsewhere in West Asia and North Africa are widely thought degraded. Characteristic of these areas is a preponderance of unpalatable shrubs or a lack of overall ground cover with a rise in the associated risks of soil erosion. Migrating pastoralists have been the scapegoats for this condition of the range. State steppe interventions of the last forty years have reflected this with programs to supplant customary systems with structures and institutions promoting western grazing systems and technologies. Principal amongst the latter has been shrub technology, particularly Atriplex species, for use in land rehabilitation and as a fodder reserve. This paper deconstructs state steppe policy in Syria by examining the overlap and interface of government and customary legal systems as a factor in the history of shrub technology transfer in the Syrian steppe. It is argued that the link made between signs of degradation and perceived moribund customary systems is not at all causal. Indeed, customary systems are found to be adaptive and resilient, and a strong influence on steppe management and the fate of technology transfer initiatives. Furthermore, developments in rangeland ecology raise questions about claims for grazing-induced degradation and call for a reinterpretation of recent shifts in vegetation on the Syrian steppe. Given the ineffectiveness of past state interventions, and in view of renewed understanding of customary systems and rangeland ecology, decentralization and some devolution of formal management responsibility is likely to be a viable and an attractive option for policymakers. |
| format | Artículo preliminar |
| id | CGSpace156710 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2001 |
| publishDateRange | 2001 |
| publishDateSort | 2001 |
| publisher | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| publisherStr | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1567102025-01-10T06:37:47Z Tribes, state, and technology adoption in arid land management, Syria Rae, Jonathan Arab, Georges Nordblom, Thomas Jani, K. Gintzburger, Gustave arid soils scrublands environmental degradation cover plants soil degradation erosion steppes pastoral systems state intervention grazing systems technology transfer rangelands Arid shrub-lands in Syria and elsewhere in West Asia and North Africa are widely thought degraded. Characteristic of these areas is a preponderance of unpalatable shrubs or a lack of overall ground cover with a rise in the associated risks of soil erosion. Migrating pastoralists have been the scapegoats for this condition of the range. State steppe interventions of the last forty years have reflected this with programs to supplant customary systems with structures and institutions promoting western grazing systems and technologies. Principal amongst the latter has been shrub technology, particularly Atriplex species, for use in land rehabilitation and as a fodder reserve. This paper deconstructs state steppe policy in Syria by examining the overlap and interface of government and customary legal systems as a factor in the history of shrub technology transfer in the Syrian steppe. It is argued that the link made between signs of degradation and perceived moribund customary systems is not at all causal. Indeed, customary systems are found to be adaptive and resilient, and a strong influence on steppe management and the fate of technology transfer initiatives. Furthermore, developments in rangeland ecology raise questions about claims for grazing-induced degradation and call for a reinterpretation of recent shifts in vegetation on the Syrian steppe. Given the ineffectiveness of past state interventions, and in view of renewed understanding of customary systems and rangeland ecology, decentralization and some devolution of formal management responsibility is likely to be a viable and an attractive option for policymakers. 2001 2024-10-24T12:45:11Z 2024-10-24T12:45:11Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/156710 en Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Rae, Jonathan; Arab, Georges; Nordblom, Thomas; Jani, K.; Gintzburger, Gustave. 2001. Tribes, state, and technology adoption in arid land management, Syria. CAPRi working paper 0015. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/156710 |
| spellingShingle | arid soils scrublands environmental degradation cover plants soil degradation erosion steppes pastoral systems state intervention grazing systems technology transfer rangelands Rae, Jonathan Arab, Georges Nordblom, Thomas Jani, K. Gintzburger, Gustave Tribes, state, and technology adoption in arid land management, Syria |
| title | Tribes, state, and technology adoption in arid land management, Syria |
| title_full | Tribes, state, and technology adoption in arid land management, Syria |
| title_fullStr | Tribes, state, and technology adoption in arid land management, Syria |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tribes, state, and technology adoption in arid land management, Syria |
| title_short | Tribes, state, and technology adoption in arid land management, Syria |
| title_sort | tribes state and technology adoption in arid land management syria |
| topic | arid soils scrublands environmental degradation cover plants soil degradation erosion steppes pastoral systems state intervention grazing systems technology transfer rangelands |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/156710 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT raejonathan tribesstateandtechnologyadoptioninaridlandmanagementsyria AT arabgeorges tribesstateandtechnologyadoptioninaridlandmanagementsyria AT nordblomthomas tribesstateandtechnologyadoptioninaridlandmanagementsyria AT janik tribesstateandtechnologyadoptioninaridlandmanagementsyria AT gintzburgergustave tribesstateandtechnologyadoptioninaridlandmanagementsyria |