The "extensive wilderness" of Zambia’s central Luangwa Valley is the homeland of the Valley Bisa whose cultural practices have enriched this environment for centuries. Beginning with the intrusions of warlords and later British colonials, successive generations have experienced the callousness and challenges of colonialism. Their homeland, a slender corridor surrounded by three national parks and an escarpment, is a microcosm of the political, economic and cultural battlefields surrounding most African protected areas today. The story of the Valley Bisa diverges from the myths that conservationists, administrators, and philanthropists, tell about Africa’s environmental and wildlife crises.
Addresses the global conundrum of how to promote ‘sustainable conservation and biological diversity, especially under ‘weak governments. Portrays three generations of rural cultivators as they narrate their livelihoods’ struggles. Explains how they cope with changing bureaucratic resource policies affecting their individual and corporate welfare.
