Item – Theses Canada

OCLC number
612694723
Link(s) to full text
LAC copy
LAC copy
Author
Van der Horst, Greg.
Title
The political ecology of urbanization : fuelwood use and sourcing in Maun, Botswana.
Degree
M.A. -- University of Guelph, 2007
Publisher
Ottawa : Library and Archives Canada = Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, [2008]
Description
2 microfiches
Notes
Includes bibliographical references.
Abstract
Rapid urban growth has significantly transformed the social, economic and ecological living conditions of rural and urban Africans. However, while economic and political dimensions of rural-urban transformation have been explored, changes in human-environmental interaction driven by increasing anthropogenic ecosystem modification have been understudied. This study explores the political ecology of urbanization through an analysis of household fuelwood consumption and sourcing in the rapidly growing town of Maim, Botswana. Its findings are that: (1) commercial energy prices are important determinants of urban fuelwood consumption; (2) fuelwood harvesting patterns are determined more by relative deadwood abundance than source proximity or transport cost; and (3) house-hold urban-rural socio-economic linkages are critical influences on harvesters' responses to fuelwood availability patterns. The study concludes that both external and local factors have been key to the creation of a ' socio'-ecological urban-rural gradient which, in turn, significantly influences urban fuelwood sourcing decisions in Maim and its hinterland.
ISBN
9780494339190
0494339195