"Highland Sanctuary is the first historical study of the strikingly different environmental histories of the East and West Usambaras and a significant contribution to global environmental history." "Christopher A. Conte explores the changing ecological and economic perspectives of German and British colonial officials, settlers, and scientists, on the one hand, and African farmers and pastoralists, on the other. He unravels the complex interactions between agriculture, herding, forestry, the colonial state, and the landscape itself. His examination of the region's history of ecological transformation shows how these forces have combined to create an ever-changing mosaic of forest and field. Conte illuminates the ongoing debate over conservation of the mountains' resources, arguing that contingency and change and human agency have shaped forests in ways that rival the power of nature."--BOOK JACKET.