Dr. Mark Moritz

I have worked with different groups of mobile pastoralists in northern Cameroon in 1993, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2000-1, and 2008 and pursued several interrelated research interests.

Pastoral Management of Open Access - I have recently begun a new multi-disciplinary project that will examine how mobile pastoralists in the Logone Floodplain of Cameroon coordinate their movements to avoid conflict and avoid overgrazing in a land tenure system that is best described as open access. My hypothesis is that this management system is best understood as a case of emerging complexity. I will test this hypothesis using spatial and ethnographic analyses as well as multi-agent simulations and analytical modeling.

Herder-Farmer Conflicts in West Africa - Herder-farmer conflicts are ubiquitous in West Africa. This project examines why some of these conflicts escalate into widespread violence between communities, while most others do not. I am combining processual and structural approaches to develop a general model of herder-farmer conflicts.

Transformations of African Pastoral Systems - examines how African pastoral systems are affected by the commoditization of the means of production, in particular how changes in the production system shape and are shaped by changes in household organization and institutions.

Local Knowledge Systems of Rangeland Ecology - examines rangeland ecology and degradation from a pastoralist perspective and aims at contributing to a greater understanding of the use and dynamics of rangeland ecosystems.

The Individual in Cultural Adaptation - explores the interaction between ecology, economy, culture and psychology, in particular the effects of different types of herding ecologies on psychological development as well as the role of reflexive honor culture in the deterrence of livestock theft.