Rethinking Resilience through a Political Ecology Lens: Producing Biodiversity in Tanzania's Mangrove Forests

Abstract

This paper seeks to explore the multifaceted social-ecological understandings of biodiversity through the lens of ecological resilience and political ecology. Integrating ecological theory is a major challenge in the field of political ecology, as ecology often takes backstage to social-political dynamics. An engagement with the analytical approach of ecological resilience provides a more nuanced understanding of the ecological structure and function of natural resources. Through a case study of the Rufiji Delta mangrove forests in Tanzania, this paper draws attention to the multifaceted dimensions of mangrove forest biodiversity.