| The Miombo woodlands are the most dominant biome covering large parts of eastern and southern African countries. This study examines whether the changing ecological and social systems of the Miombo woodlands in the Gokwe North Rural District of Zimbabwe can continue to support the livelihoods of its occupants. Anchored within the perspective of "integrated land-change science," this research feeds into the objectives of the Miombo Network and the LUCC Research communities.;The research focuses on the character woodland use, the causes of its change, and the responses of woodlands to those changes. The primary objective is to establish trajectories of woodland use and change within the context of three different natural resources management-use systems, varying from private to communal. Satellite imagery analysis was used to determine the kind and extent of woodland change. An assortment of complimentary research tools were employed in the study, including generative, household, and focus group interviews, ecological characterization, and institutional and organizational profiles. These data were generated for nine villages in the District.;The research shows that as the woodland changed in both quality and extent between 1986 and 1992; the annual rate of woodland loss was estimated to be 4.2% but declined to 0.2% between 1992 and 1998. The bulk of the woodlands were lost to arable farming, spurred by cotton farming. The variation in these changes were found to be linked to the social relations and rules of resource allocation and control within local-level institutions and organizations, especially in those cases where controlling institutions have been weakened and not replaced, expressed in the frequent calls for law enforcement in the household survey instrument. The demands for land for cotton and maize production, coupled with an agricultural extension service interested in production more so that woodland ecosystems, complement the institutional issue. The changes and adjustments in the coupled human-environment system notwithstanding, the Miombo woodlands appear to be able to sustain local livelihoods. |
