‘Mind the Gap’: Reconnecting Local Actions and Multi-Level Policies to Bridge the Governance Gap. An Example of Soil Erosion Action from East Africa

Claire Kelly, Maarten Wynants, Linus K. Munishi, Mona Nasseri, Aloyce Patrick, Kelvin M. Mtei, Francis Mkilema, Anna Rabinovich, David Gilvear, Geoff Wilson, William Blake and Patrick A. Ndakidemi
Additional contact information
Claire Kelly: School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK
Maarten Wynants: School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK
Linus K. Munishi: Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Arusha P.O.Box 447, Tanzania
Mona Nasseri: Faculty of Ecological Design Thinking, Schumacher College, Totnes TQ9 6EA, UK
Aloyce Patrick: Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Arusha P.O.Box 447, Tanzania
Kelvin M. Mtei: Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Arusha P.O.Box 447, Tanzania
Francis Mkilema: Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Arusha P.O.Box 447, Tanzania
Anna Rabinovich: Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
David Gilvear: School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK
Geoff Wilson: School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK
William Blake: School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK
Patrick A. Ndakidemi: Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Arusha P.O.Box 447, Tanzania

Land, 2020, vol. 9, issue 10, 1-19

Abstract: Achieving change to address soil erosion has been a global yet elusive goal for decades. Efforts to implement effective solutions have often fallen short due to a lack of sustained, context-appropriate and multi-disciplinary engagement with the problem. Issues include prevalence of short-term funding for ‘quick-fix’ solutions; a lack of nuanced understandings of institutional, socio-economic or cultural drivers of erosion problems; little community engagement in design and testing solutions; and, critically, a lack of traction in integrating locally designed solutions into policy and institutional processes. This paper focusses on the latter issue of local action for policy integration, drawing on experiences from a Tanzanian context to highlight the practical and institutional disjuncts that exist; and the governance challenges that can hamper efforts to address and build resilience to soil erosion. By understanding context-specific governance processes, and joining them with realistic, locally designed actions, positive change has occurred, strengthening local-regional resilience to complex and seemingly intractable soil erosion challenges.

Keywords: byelaws; gully erosion; land degradation; community engagement; resilience; policy; agro-pastoral; co-design; interdisciplinary; Maasai; Tanzania (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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