Deconstructions regarding objectivism aside, this BBC slideshow of British explorer Sir Wilfred Thesiger’s photos captures some incredible landscapes behind the people.  It makes me wonder about how these landscapes have changed over the past 50-70 years since he took these photos.  The mid-late 20th century marked a turning point in many African countries as colonial powers were driven out  by strong independence movements and revolutionary uprisings.  These colonial powers left a legacy in terms of destruction to the ecosystems of these countries as well.  Changes to traditional land tenure structures imposed by colonial governments served to sedentarize formerly nomadic peoples, thereby concentrating livestock into smaller areas for longer periods of time, kickstarting the desertification process in many places.  This chronic overgrazing happened to coincide with a period of drier climate conditions, making it more difficult for overgrazed rangelands to recover. AND, to top it all off, once people are shifted from a nomadic to a sedentary lifestyle, many people are forced to turn to agriculture to supplement their livelihoods.  Cultivating overgrazed arid rangelands during a drought— the desertification trifecta. 

All of this to say that it would be interesting to visit up some of those place captured by Thesiger and take some ‘after’ photos. Politics and socioeconomic conditions have fluctuated a lot in the past few decades, and some locations may look better, some worse.   Historic photographs can be a really useful tool in ecosystem restoration.