ナミビア乾燥地域に暮らす農牧民の自然資源利用におけるフロンティアの役割とその変化

Abstract

Agro-pastoralists living in arid areas of Africa tend to have highly mobile lifestyles and to use natural resources widely and sparsely. In this way, frontiers of low population density and sufficient natural resources have been needed. However, the present study found that transitions in local frontier conditions have led to changes by some factors such as population growth and setting conservation areas. The aim of this study was to clarify how Ovambo agro-pastoralists living in north-central Namibia have changed in natural resource use with transition in local frontier of their society. A number of sub-groups make up the Ovambo. Some of these groups have formed small kingdoms in which most group members live at the center of the kingdom and the periphery remains the frontier. Since the 1970s, people have migrated into these frontier areas and altered the local conditions, forcing inhabitants to change their use of natural resources. They have coped with this situation in three main ways: (1) Wealthy people have established private cattle posts in the frontier where they graze their livestock and gather natural resources; (2) some (especially non-wealthy people) have started to use indigenous fruit trees in multiple ways, not only for their fruits but also for building materials and fuel wood; and (3) older villagers have established social networks with newer villagers on the frontier to exchange goods that are available only from their respective areas. These three responses suggest that the coping with the loss of frontier has emerged the disparities mainly caused by economic situation of household. However, local customs of reciprocal exchange of surplus natural resources among neighbors and neighboring areas remain, and have been adapted to the new situation.