Ecological stress and political coercion in the Sudan

This article outlines the impact of state intervention on ecological relations in the Sudan. The establishment of large-scale mechanised agricultural schemes; population and livestock concentration around water sources; and the evolution of large urban centres with high demands for firewood and charcoal have all contributed to ecological degradation. These effects have been coupled with the use of coercive measures to displace traditional farmers and pastoralists from their lands in favour of large-scale farming schemes. The objectives of government policy have suffered a double retreat - from development to crisis management and from crisis management to the bare maintenance of compliance and order. The inability of the state to intervene on behalf of the victims of drought and famine has led to the use of coercion as the only means to legitimise its hold on power.