124 Scarcity and Surfeitperceived this as another colonial constraint and hence disliked the crop.91 The
Belgian colonial administration then introduced the 'poll tax' which was com-
pulsory for every adult male, and peasants were forced to set up small coffee
plantations in order to have funds to pay the tax. Coffee growing was there-
fore perceived as the means of meeting tax obligations rather than a way of
making profit. In World War 11, coffee extension was replaced by food crop
extension so that the population could solve the food scarcity linked to that
period. Coffee production has been on the decline due to the ongoing civil war
but also as a result of increasing scarcity of arable land that has been cleared
to make room for food crops needed by the ever-growing population.
The rural population has always been wary of food security, but because
this is largely for subsistence,purposes, coffee, and similarly tea have served
to provide much-needed hard cash for other needs, like education.Natural Resource Management
Burundi falls short of the minimum requirements for sustainable natural
resource management and utilisation. In part, this failure is part of a hroad-
er dynamic in the conflict in the country. The significance, nevertheless, of an
appreciation of the importance of natural resource management has not been
lacking. On the contrary, it has been viewed as an integral part of man's rela-
tionship to his natural environment. This is illustrated by the tale of a
monarch's refusal to destroy the country's sprawling natural forest to flush
out mutineers to his rule. Oral sources report that in the early 20th century,
Mwami Gisabo refused to put the Kibira forest to fire where a rebellion had
erupted under the leadership of one of his sons-in-law. The monarch
advanced that this was because "Kibira Forest is the link between the sky and
the earth, and therefore no one had the right to destroy it."
The uncoordinated character of natural resource management in Burundi
has resulted from the lack of a proper overarching environmental legislation.
Its chaotic and coercive character has ensured that it did not strike a chord
with the rural inhabitants who are the traditional custodians of the environ-
ment. The undermining of the traditional Bashingantahe conflict regulation
institution has watered down public confidence in the peaceful resolution of
disputes arising from the exploitation of natural resources.
Beginning with colonial coercion of the population in soil erosion initia-
tives, natural resource management initiatives have been top-down and coer-
cive, and viewed by the population as punitive. As such, and lacking strong
legal backing after colonialism, little headway has been made in the sustain-
able management of Burundi's natural resources.
The pivotal traditional role of the council of wise men or Bashingantahe
was systematically eroded with the advent of colonialism and the successive
military dictatorships in the country. Land disputes between communities,
hitherto manageablv contained bv the institution, exploded.