Green Colonialism in Zimbabwe, 1890-1980 By Vimbai Kwashirai

changed over time and were modified by circumstances. Colonialism generally weakened the power base and authority of indigenous leaders, but remnants of the old practices have survived in regions like Gokwe, Bumi, Siyakobvu, and Dande in Zimbabwe.²⁸ Woodlands were central to peoples' spiritual needs, and sacred groves were conserved for customary rain deities found throughout the miombo region of southern Africa.²⁹ Certain hills, ridges, and plains called rambotemwa were regarded as holy burial sites deserving respect and were therefore not allowed to be tampered with.³⁰ It was believed that God, or Mwari, commanded certain forests, trees, rocks, rain, and water shrines be kept sacred.³¹ Matose and Wily agree that among the Barotse, the Lozi of Zambia, and the Nyamwezi of Tanzania, woodlands were preserved for wildlife, which provided meat and other products such as horns, skins, and tails.³²

Forest groves had special status for social purposes like rainmaking, initiation ceremonies for adolescent boys, and ritual dances; casual entry for grazing, hunting, and firewood collection into such woodland was either prevented or regulated.³³ Ranger notes that officials redefined African custom as theft of government property and limited access.³⁴ According to Anderson, political conflicts arose over forest management in Lembus in Kenya between 1904 and 1963 because locals wanted to use the forest for cattle grazing, commercial companies were interested in timber exploitation, and the Forestry Department was wanting to conserve and control forest reserves for timber production and financial returns.³⁵ Beinart and Grove concur that colonial states generally imposed conservation knowledge and technology upon Africans whose own ecological ideas and practices were moderately used but generally regarded as superstitions by colonial governments.³⁶ According to Wilson, local cultivators conserved trees in fields for multiple-purpose value. Agricultural officials ordered the removal of these trees on the grounds that they interfered with plough agriculture and reduced yields, especially in pure stands. However, the clean cultivation policy increased soil erosion.³⁷

In regard to the colonial period, the problem of balancing demands was more acute than in the precolonial era, and the government was a critical factor. Many scholars have found government attitudes toward