sábado, 11 de outubro de 2014

Water, History and Politics in Zimbabwe: Bulawayo’s Struggles with the Environment, 1894-2008



Mucha Musemwa (2014). “Water, History and Politics in Zimbabwe: Bulawayo’s Struggles with the Environment, 1894-2008”. Trenton NJ: Africa World Press.

This book examines the City of Bulawayo’s struggles with the environment from 1894 to 2008 given its location in the perennially semi-arid region of south-western Zimbabwe.  It focuses on a case-study of Makokoba, the city’s first and oldest township, and explores the history of its African residents and their struggles over access to water during this period from a ‘sustainable livelihoods’ perspective – one which emphasizes that human security and environmental sustainability are inextricably intertwined. The book argues that water scarcity in Bulawayo, especially as it affected Africans for the most part, was a result of both biophysical conditions and man-made policies which were linked to deep-rooted struggles over access to, and management of, water resources in both colonial and postcolonial Zimbabwe.