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The Political Ecology of Colonial Somaliland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2011

Jama Mohamed
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Abstract

The social basis of ecological change in Somaliland during the colonial period was politics, especially imperial politics: the division of the Somali country into various colonial spheres, the loss of territory under the 1897 Anglo‐Ethiopian Treaty, and the pacification wars. These events, as it were, reduced the land available for use by the pastoralists, which led to overgrazing, soil erosion and ecological degradation. Moreover, the income of the population declined throughout the colonial period. Even though during the late colonial period the ‘nominal’ price of pastoral goods increased, the ‘real’ price of pastoral commodities did not increase to cover the loss of income caused by inflation and the high cost of imported goods. These two processes—on the one hand ecological degradation and on the other the decline of income—could be understood if they were read contrapuntally. Such reading is possible only if we give full attention to political ecology: why ecology had changed, the politics of that change, and the impact it had on the income and everyday life of the population.

Résumé

La politique, et particulièrement la politique impériale, a constitué la base sociale du changement écologique qui a eu lieu au Somaliland au cours de la période coloniale: la division du Somali en sphères coloniales, la perte de territoires aux termes du traité anglo‐éthiopien de 1897 et les guerres de pacification. Il se trouve que ces événements, en réduisant la quantité de terres exploitables par les pastoralistes, ont entrâıné un surpââturage, une érosion des sols et une dégradation écologique. De plus, les revenus des populations ont baissé tout au long de la période coloniale. Malgré l’augmentation du prix “nominal” des produits pastoraux vers la fin de la période coloniale, le prix “réel” de ces produits n’a pas augmenté suffisamment pour couvrir la perte de revenus provoquée par l’inflation et le coût élevé des importations. On pourrait comprendre ces deux processus, à savoir la dégradation écologique d’une part et la baisse des revenus d’autre part, à condition de les lire en contrepoint. Une telle lecture n’est possible que si l’on porte une attention totale à l’écologie politique : les raisons du changement écologique, les aspects politiques de ce changement et l’impact qu’il a eu sur les revenus et la vie quotidienne de la population.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 74 , Issue 4 , November 2004 , pp. 534 - 566
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2004

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