The Evolution of the Gum Arabic (Acacia senegal) Collection System in the Jolof, Northern Senegal c.1890-1990

Abstract

"For over five hundred years rural populations of southern Mauritania and northern Senegal have collected gum arabic. Gum arabic, tapped from the Acacia senegal tree, is a non-toxic, tasteless, and water soluble exudate. Now, as in the past, it is used primarily as a emulsifier and fixative in textile, printing, and food processing industries. For centuries captives of Muslim Bidan clerics collected gum in southern Mauritania. Their descendants continue to gather gum in the semi-arid Ferlo grasslands of northern Senegal. These 'Maures' are a numerically small, though highly specialized group of forest product gatherers who extract in an ecologically sound fashion the tree crop of considerable exchange value. However, the once successful collection economy faces extinction. This presentation is a case study of the rise and decline of the gum arabic tree crop commodity in the Jolof region of northern Senegal from the time of the French colonial conquest in 1890 to the present. it will focus on the evolution of the common property regime (CPR) established around the Acacia senegal and identify the key institutional and ecological factors of transformation. Policy recommendations will be presented regarding options to reconstruct the CPR system in the context of contemporary political and economic realities."