Isle of Fire: The Political Ecology of Landscape Burning in Madagascar (University of Chicago Geography Research Papers) [Paperback]

Christian A. Kull (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0226461416 | ISBN-13: 978-0226461410 | Publication Date: July 7, 2004 | Edition: 1

Long considered both best friend and worst enemy to humankind, fire is at once creative and destructive. On the endangered tropical island of Madagascar, these two faces of fire have fueled a century-long conflict between rural farmers and island leaders. Based on detailed fieldwork in Malagasy villages and a thorough archival investigation, Isle of Fire offers a detailed analysis of why Madagascar has always been aflame, why it always will be aflame, and ultimately, as Christian Kull argues, why it should remain aflame.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The book is attractively produced and impeccably edited. . . . Most emphatically, Isle of Fire . . . . is certain to become one of those volumes that will fly off the shelves and into our hands for a long time to come."—Robert Kuhlken, Annals of the Association of American Geographers

(Robert Kuhlken Annals of the Association of American Geographers )

“What Isle of Fire contributes is a wealth of data; a systematic survey of fire in grasslands, woodlands, and forests; a detailed account of the politics by which Madagascar’s elites have consistently misread the landscape; and a conceptual parsing of the various issues.”—Stephen J. Pyne, Quarterly Review of Biology

(Stephen J. Pyne Quarterly Review of Biology )

I highly recommend this book to all those interested in resource conflict, fire and rural systems, and suggest that it will be of major use in a wide variety of units offered in university geography and environmental science courses."—J.B. Kirkpatrick, Institute of Australian Geographers

(J.B. Kirkpatrick Institute of Australian Geographers )

"The book clearly demonstrates Kull''s wealth of experience in the political ecology of Madagascar, borne out by his rich field data collection and experience. The text is endowed with precise language, rich ethnographic detail and colonial historical sources. . . . An interesting read--for the successful way it conveys the multiplicity of discourses around fire, and the lively, detailed and thorough way Kull traces fire''s rebellious nature."

(Theresa Wong Development and Chance )

"In a carefully crafted and richly detailed book that weaves together political analysis and ecology, Kull argues that the real fire problem encompasses a century-long political struggle. . . . Kull is writing about fire on the island of Madagascar, but his argument holds true for at least a dozen other countries in Africa and elsewhere. . . . Isle of Fire is superbly written. Kull''s style is fluid and his use of jargon is kept at a minimum. . . . I recommend it to scholars and practitioners interested in understanding the causes of persistent environmental conflicts, be they related to fire or not."—Paul Laris, Environmental Conservation

(Paul Laris Environmental Conservation )

"I highly recommend this book, not only to readers interested in fire as a resource management tool, but also to a broader public interested in scientific knowledge production that aims at innovative strategies allowing for integration of socioeconomic development and conservation objectives."

(Peter Messerll Mountain Research and Development )

"The countrywide coverage and ecological detail make this book the definitive benchmark for all future work on fire in Africa. It is also valuable for its contributions to a theoretical framework for the interdisciplinary field of political ecology. . . . A tour de force of political ecology, geography, and model building."—Michael Sheridan, Current Anthropology

(Michael Sheridan Current Anthropology )

"I highly recommend this book to all those interested in resource conflict, fire and rural systems, and suggest that it will be of major use in a wide variety of units offered in university geography and environmental science courses."

(J.B. Kirkpatrick Geographical Research )

"Superbly written. Kull''s style is fluid and his use of jargon is kept to a minimum. . . . In the tradition of the best political ecology, Kull''s is an eclectic work that combines detailed description of indigenous land-use practices with careful social theoretical analysis that draws upon a broad mix of theory. I recommend it to scholars and practictioners interested in understanding the causes of persistent envoironmental conflicts, be they related to fire of not."

(Paul Laris Environmental Conservation )

"A tour de force. Deftly combining the perspectives of fire ecology and political ecology and drawing on a variety of archival, documentary, interview, and field-based sources, Kull''s detailed, authoritative, gracefully written, and handsomely illustrated work is a major contribution to our understanding of the Malagasy ''fire problem'' while underscoring the need to appreciate the broader ecological, socioeconomic, political, ideological, and historical context in which resource struggles occur. . . . It will prove of great interest and value to geographers, anthropologists, ecologists, environmentalists, and many others."

(Geographical Review ) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From the Inside Flap

Long considered both best friend and worst enemy to humankind, fire is at once creative and destructive. On the endangered tropical island of Madagascar, these two faces of fire have fueled a century-long conflict between rural farmers and island leaders. Based on detailed fieldwork in Malagasy villages and a thorough archival investigation, Isle of Fire offers a detailed analysis of why Madagascar has always been aflame, why it always will be aflame, and ultimately, as Christian Kull argues, why it should remain aflame.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (July 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226461416
• ISBN-13: 978-0226461410
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #411,366 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #7 in Books > History > Africa > Madagascar

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A solid study of fire, September 16, 2004

By 

E. N. Anderson (Riverside, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Isle of Fire: The Political Ecology of Landscape Burning in Madagascar (University of Chicago Geography Research Papers) (Paperback)

This book is an excellent, thorough study of the role of fire in Madagascar. People in Madagascar light fires to clear forest and pasture. This habit has been widely denounced in official and popular sources. Many writers believe, mistakenly, that Madagascar was covered with lush forests until people got there and started burning. Yet, Madagascar is mostly a dry tropical environment, with frequent lightning storms. The existence of fire-adapted endemic plants and vegetation types confirms what common sense would lead us to expect: fire has always been there. On the other hand, much superb forest, especially in the eastern and central highlands of the country, has been converted to waste by burning in recent decades or centuries.
Christian Kull discusses this complex picture--good fire, bad fire, complex fire. He shows that the inflated rhetoric about fire's awful effects stems from the needs of national and colonial regimes to maintain control as much as from the actual needs of fire management. He provides a number of excellent case studies of local communities that use fire in a variety of ways--sometimes for good, sometimes for ill, in terms of overall welfare and environmental management. He provides really excellent suggestions at the end on what should be done--I hope the NGO's and Madagascar government are reading this book.
One problem that might deserve more attention is the case of introduced plants. Madagascar was inflicted by the French colonial regime with eucalyptus, pine, and acacia--nonnative plants that burn explosively. (Native forests do not burn so explosively, so far as I have observed.) They have created an unnatural and terribly fire-prone environment in many areas. They are currently managed (illegally!) by local burning during times that are wet enough to prevent runaway fires.
So, why not five stars? First is that Kull gets carried away at times, and indulges in rhetoric that is a bit too "inflammatory" (the word is irresistable). The government and NGO workers are really not just out to push people around; there is a real point here. Burning is too little controlled and too badly managed. The leaders are clearly motivated by a desire for control, but they have a real point, too. Simplistic bash-the-leaders rhetoric sits poorly with Kull's otherwise thoughtful and nuanced study. Second, Kull might have checked more on other areas of the world--those in which indigenous burning is much better controlled and managed than it is in Madagascar (e.g. the Maya lowlands of Mexico), and those in which it is as badly managed, with devastating results (parts of south China). Third, Kull does not say enough about the biodiversity problem, which is getting worse by the day. Madagascar is home to an incredible endemic biota, which must be preserved for the benefit of humanity. Unfortunately, the costs of preserving this biota are currently being paid by the desperately poor Malagasy people, while the benefits go to humanity as a whole--especially to well-off tourists and scientists. Fire prevention to save endemic species is desperately needed, but somebody will have to figure out how to compensate local people more fairly. Kull's advice on overall fire management is so good that he might well turn his efforts to this problem. As I explained to some students in the Madagascar bush: It's not about lemurs vs. people, it's about lemurs and people vs. no lemurs and no people.
Fire management is a part of the wider issue of environmental control, an issue far too important to be left to government agents or local people or anyone else. We all have to work on it; all of us, lemurs included, are in this together.