To Rove or not to Rove

During the lead up to the Iraq Invasion my housemate Neil Gislason and I often tuned in to ‘Diplomatic Immunity’, the weekly TV Ontario current affairs programme. One blustery night we were surprised to learn that the show was not focusing on the impending conflict. Instead of witnessing another debate between Eric Margolis and Janice Stein over the relative merits of the military option, we were treated to some deep thoughts on Sub-Saharan Africa’s development problems. Neil and I will never forget that night. Professor Stein opined that one of the principal impediments to equitable development was a culture of ‘Land Rover envy’. We thought about it for weeks. Was it really only the size of one’s rover that counted?

Based upon my informal observations of the twice-daily traffic jam on Ocean Road here in Dar es Salaam, Professor Stein was on to something. Typically 70 to 75% of the idling vehicles that I walk past on my way to work are gas-guzzlers. Often their doors feature the logos of prominent NGOs and development agencies, including several of the former that concentrate on environmental issues, such as the World Wide Fund for Nature. Certainly the local development establishment can convincingly rationalize the composition of its fleet by appealing to the sorry state of Tanzania’s side roads. However, it remains an open question just how many of these SUVs are actually used consistently to do work in rural areas. In short, I’ve caught myself wondering on more than one occasion if this transportation ‘norm’ is really necessary for development workers based in and around Dar. In light of the present climate crisis, the status quo surely does not seem desirable.

As the environment surges past its historic 1989 high to the top of the national priority list in Canada, it makes sense to think about my own project’s environmental balance sheet. On January 5th, days before I left, I recall walking down Yonge Street in Toronto clad in nothing more than my David Suzuki t-shirt. That same day, looking at my research budget, I wondered what it was going to cost me to hire an SUV to complete interviews with cotton farmers in the heart of Tanzania’s Western Cotton Growing Area. At the time I didn’t really grasp the contradiction. I can now see that I was unthinkingly caught up in the old equation: development work = big white truck.

Many of the young expats that I met at a party last Friday night have liberated themselves from such path dependence. They have embraced ‘piki pikis’ (little motorbikes) and car pools. When they do hop into one of the many development dreamboats, it is frequently because they are hitching a ride. I hope to follow their lead. If I bear in mind Toronto guitar superstar Don Duval’s famous dictum I should be able to will my environmental awareness into action. As Donner has admonished again and again: “less talk, more rock!”

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Thanks to all of you that got in touch after the last posting. It was great to know that so many took the time to read my thoughts. The sad thing is that Nairobi's marginalized and dispossessed residents face similar challenges every week. I haven't yet heard from any of the other witnesses about subsequent developments. I’ll keep you posted.