{"id":{"repo_id":"cornell","oai_identifier":"oai:ecommons.cornell.edu:1813/59392"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/cornell/oai:ecommons.cornell.edu:1813/59392","repository":{"repo_id":"cornell","name":"Cornell University","base_url":"https://ecommons.cornell.edu/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Village properties, state negotiations: Decentralization and territorialization of Senegal's forests","abstract":"In the last two decades, legal reforms and development projects in Senegal have purported to transfer authority over thousands of hectares of forests, pastures, and fisheries from state agencies to local elected councils, customary chiefs, and user committees. Yet in addition to transferring official powers, these efforts have introduced new spatial categories and legal techniques such as local conventions and village protected sites. These tools alter the terrain on which state agencies, politicians, commercial interests, and customary leaders – not to mention the numerous groups whose livelihoods depend on these resources – seek to access and control natural resources. By tracing the evolution of one of Senegal’s first community forestry initiatives over a 17-year history, this article argues that decentralization has fixed forests in place and privatized common-property, while also disrupting the presumption of separate domains of “state” and “community”. Rather than creating territories governed by communities, the creation of village forests drew together customary authorities, local politicians, and forestry technicians in relations of mutual dependence and informal collaboration. One effect of decentralization has been the incorporation of new resources and property relations into networks of informalized and privatized state power.","abstract_html":"In the last two decades, legal reforms and development projects in Senegal have purported to transfer authority over thousands of hectares of forests, pastures, and fisheries from state agencies to local elected councils, customary chiefs, and user committees. Yet in addition to transferring official powers, these efforts have introduced new spatial categories and legal techniques such as local conventions and village protected sites. These tools alter the terrain on which state agencies, politicians, commercial interests, and customary leaders – not to mention the numerous groups whose livelihoods depend on these resources – seek to access and control natural resources. By tracing the evolution of one of Senegal’s first community forestry initiatives over a 17-year history, this article argues that decentralization has fixed forests in place and privatized common-property, while also disrupting the presumption of separate domains of “state” and “community”. Rather than creating territories governed by communities, the creation of village forests drew together customary authorities, local politicians, and forestry technicians in relations of mutual dependence and informal collaboration. One effect of decentralization has been the incorporation of new resources and property relations into networks of informalized and privatized state power.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Robinson, Ewan Scott"],"institution":"Cornell University","degree_name":"M.S., Development Sociology","degree_level":"Master of Science","degree_discipline":"Development Sociology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Leonard, Lori"],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018-05-30","date_published":"2018-05-30","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:49:08Z","subjects":["land politics","territorialization","Decentralization","State Formation","Sociology","Geography","community-based natural resource management","community forestry"],"languages":["en_US"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://doi.org/10.7298/X4TM78BC"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://doi.org/10.7298/X4TM78BC","href":"https://doi.org/10.7298/X4TM78BC","code":true}]},{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["ProQuest Submission ID: 10292","ProQuest Publication ID: 10816718"],"render_values":[{"text":"ProQuest Submission ID: 10292","href":null,"code":true},{"text":"ProQuest Publication ID: 10816718","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/1813/59392","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Leonard, Lori"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Robinson, Ewan Scott"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2018-10-23T13:22:28Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-10-23T13:22:28Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2018-05-30"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["dissertation or thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Development Sociology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.S., Development Sociology"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Cornell University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["land politics","territorialization","Decentralization","State Formation","Sociology","Geography","community-based natural resource management","community forestry"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en_US"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://doi.org/10.7298/X4TM78BC"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["ProQuest Submission ID: 10292","ProQuest Publication ID: 10816718"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/1813/59392"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In the last two decades, legal reforms and development projects in Senegal have purported to transfer authority over thousands of hectares of forests, pastures, and fisheries from state agencies to local elected councils, customary chiefs, and user committees. Yet in addition to transferring official powers, these efforts have introduced new spatial categories and legal techniques such as local conventions and village protected sites. These tools alter the terrain on which state agencies, politicians, commercial interests, and customary leaders – not to mention the numerous groups whose livelihoods depend on these resources – seek to access and control natural resources. By tracing the evolution of one of Senegal’s first community forestry initiatives over a 17-year history, this article argues that decentralization has fixed forests in place and privatized common-property, while also disrupting the presumption of separate domains of “state” and “community”. Rather than creating territories governed by communities, the creation of village forests drew together customary authorities, local politicians, and forestry technicians in relations of mutual dependence and informal collaboration. One effect of decentralization has been the incorporation of new resources and property relations into networks of informalized and privatized state power."]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Village properties, state negotiations: Decentralization and territorialization of Senegal's forests"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Leonard, Lori"],"dc:creator":["Robinson, Ewan Scott"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2018-10-23T13:22:28Z"],"dc:date.available":["2018-10-23T13:22:28Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2018-05-30"],"dc:description.abstract":["In the last two decades, legal reforms and development projects in Senegal have purported to transfer authority over thousands of hectares of forests, pastures, and fisheries from state agencies to local elected councils, customary chiefs, and user committees. Yet in addition to transferring official powers, these efforts have introduced new spatial categories and legal techniques such as local conventions and village protected sites. These tools alter the terrain on which state agencies, politicians, commercial interests, and customary leaders – not to mention the numerous groups whose livelihoods depend on these resources – seek to access and control natural resources. By tracing the evolution of one of Senegal’s first community forestry initiatives over a 17-year history, this article argues that decentralization has fixed forests in place and privatized common-property, while also disrupting the presumption of separate domains of “state” and “community”. Rather than creating territories governed by communities, the creation of village forests drew together customary authorities, local politicians, and forestry technicians in relations of mutual dependence and informal collaboration. One effect of decentralization has been the incorporation of new resources and property relations into networks of informalized and privatized state power."],"dc:format.mimetype":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier.doi":["https://doi.org/10.7298/X4TM78BC"],"dc:identifier.other":["ProQuest Submission ID: 10292","ProQuest Publication ID: 10816718"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/1813/59392"],"dc:language.iso":["en_US"],"dc:subject":["land politics","territorialization","Decentralization","State Formation","Sociology","Geography","community-based natural resource management","community forestry"],"dc:title":["Village properties, state negotiations: Decentralization and territorialization of Senegal's forests"],"dc:type":["dissertation or thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Development Sociology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master of Science"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.S., Development Sociology"],"thesis:institution_name":["Cornell University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:49:08Z"}