Collaborative Research: Multi-level Response Diversity: Land Use, Livelihood Diversification, and Resilience in Northern Tanzania

Throughout much of East Africa, traditionally nomadic or semi-nomadic herders have been adopting agriculture and engaging in labor migration. The causes of this livelihood diversification have been studied and found to be complex. The environmental and social consequences of these changes are likely to be profound yet remain poorly understood. This project will clarify the causes of the changing land use and livelihood patterns of Maasai in northern Tanzania and explore how these changes are likely to affect the social-ecological system, including the viability of households and communities and the implications for biodiversity and wildlife conservation. A particular focus will be on the role that response diversity plays in shaping those changes and their consequences. Response diversity results from the fact that not all actors (individuals, households, communities) respond the same way to changing conditions; the variation in response may be more important than the typical or average response.

Principal Investigator: Paul W. Leslie

CPC Fellow Investigator: Ronald R. Rindfuss , Stephen J. Walsh

Funding Source: National Science Foundation

Funding Period: 7/1/2011 - 6/30/2014