Risk and Tenure in Arid Lands

Focuses on the political and ecological bases for development in the Senegal River Basin, where traditional agriculture has long been conditioned by the chaotic and unpredictable extent and duration of the annual flood. By examining the linkages between indigenous soil classifications, food security coping strategies, land tenure, nationalism, and the implementation of international development policy in risk-prone arid lands, the authors expand our understanding of the interaction between flood recession agriculture, common property, political economy, and agricultural risk in Africa and the Middle East, while making a persuasive critique of current development policy.