Imperial Gullies

Once the grain basket for South Africa, much of Lesotho has become a scarred and degraded landscape. The nations spectacular erosion and gullying have concerned environmentalists and conservationists for more than half a century. In Imperial Gullies: Soil Erosion and Conservation in Lesotho, Kate B. Showers documents the truth behind this devastation. Showers reconstructs the history of the landscape, beginning with a history of the soil. She concludes that Lesothos distinctive erosion chasms, called dongasoften cited as an example of destructive land-use practices by African farmersactually were caused by colonial and postcolonial interventions. The residents of Lesotho emerge as victims of a failed technology. Their efforts to mitigate or resist implementation of destructive soil conservation engineering works were thwarted, and they were blamed for the consequences of policies promoted by international soil conservationists since the 1930s. Imperial Gullies calls for an observational, experimental, and, most important, a fully consultative and participatory approach to address Lesothos serious contemporary problems of soil erosion. The first book to bring to center stage the historical practice of colonial soil scienceand a cautionary tale of western science in unfamiliar terrainit will interest a broad, interdisciplinary audience in African and environmental studies, social sciences, and history.