Ethnicity and the Commons: Problems of Rangeland Management in an Inter-Ethnic Context

Abstract

"This paper examines problems of managing common property resources shared by several ethnic groups, each having culturally distinct approaches to resource use and management. The case study is from the Usangu Plains in SW Tanzania. Pastoral resources of the Plains are used by herders representing six ethnic groups, one indigenous to the area, and five that have immigrated. Each group has its own seasonal patterns of using water and pasture in Usangu, based on historical practices appropriate to ecological conditions prevailing in their home areas. These practices are not complementary when superimposed upon the current social and ecological context of Usangu. The result is inter-ethnic conflict among herders sharing the commons, and an approaching 'tragedy of the commons' on the Usangu Plains. I compare the immigration into Usangu of the Wamaasai in the colonial period, when the Wasangu had some authority to exert local control over pastoral resources; with the immigration of the Wasukuma in the post-colonial period, once these resources had become open access under the policies of the Tanzanian state. I argue that a comprehensive resource management plan would avert the tragedy of the commons on the plains."