Subsistence is Futile: Negotiating Access to a Tanzanian Nature Reserve

Nature is a major state concern in Tanzania, where thirty percent of the land is under protected status. On the borders of one protected area—a nature reserve in the East Usambara Mountains— stark inequalities separate the region’s smallholder farmers from the powerful institutions that implement conservation policies. Through ethnographic attention to the subtleties of conversation between farmers and foresters, the complexity of these political-ecological dynamics comes to light. Despite their marginal status, residents found creative ways to discursively navigate conservation restrictions, negotiate their access to the forest, and shape the way environmental governance unfolds.