Landscape(s) in transition: An environmental history of a village in north-east Botswana

Environmental change in Africa is often associated with processes of land e xploitation and degradation caused by human agents. However, recent studies have demonstrated how earlier assumptions about the causes and effects of environmental change in some cases have been misleading and simplistic, Thi s paper explores changes during the last century in the abundance and distr ibution of such natural resources as grazing, browse, firewood and edible f ruits and berries in a village in north-eastern Botswana. A variety of data sources were used, primarily aerial photographs from different years, vege tation sampling, colonial documentation and recent official records, as wel l as the or al histories of villagers. Initially, descriptions of the envir onment appeared confusing and contradictory. By applying a geographical and historical approach, seemingly conflicting data can be brought together, t hereby contributing to an understanding of actual and perceived change. By focusing on how the availability of specific natural resources has varied o ver time, different and transitory landscapes, as experienced by different observers, are revealed.