African Wildlife & Environment Issue 81

SPECIAL BOOK REVIEW

Montane to Mangrove Framework of the Gorongosa Ecosystem Lynn Hurry Introduction Montane to Mangrove is the entire version of Dr Ken Tinley’s 1977 DSc thesis Framework of the Gorongosa Ecosystem. Mozambique . Its publication was funded in 2020 by the Gorongosa Project, Mozambique, in recognition of the value of the thesis as a model for conservation management, initially for the Gorongosa team but also seen for its importance for conservation throughout Mozambique and Africa at large. (Hence the print- run of 500 copies). This review covers both the PhD thesis itself as well as the pathways that led to it being re-developed and published as an important resource for worldwide ecological thinkers. www.gorongosa.org Ken Tinley’s D.Sc. thesis is a masterpiece. He’s a tremendous intellect and a visionary, we really respect and appreciate what he did, and we are going to make sure that his pioneering work is clearly acknowledged in everything that we ever do that draws on his research, from now until I’m his age. There’s no way he could have been conscious at the time of how valuable his work was going to be — and in what ways. Rob Pringle, Professor of Zoology, Princeton University.

Montane to Mangrove Framework oF the GoronGosa ecosystem M o z a M b i q u e

Montane to Mangrove Framework oF the GoronGosa ecosystem M o z a M b i q u e

ken L. tInLey

D.Sc. (Ecology and Wildlife Management) Ken Lochner Ti n l ey

published over his many years as one of Africa’s most respected ecologists. Researched over five years between 1967 and 1972 while he was Gorongosa’s resident ecologist, it is likely that this was the first geo-ecological doctoral thesis to be produced in Africa, and is certainly one of the few truly holistic ecological studies of any region ever to be published. The saving of wild places, ecosystems, and rural human communities has been Ken’s lifelong commitment. As he has readily admitted: “it’s a dedication too idealistic perhaps, too King Canute-like, when faced with the incoming tide of human ’swarming’ and unknown evolutionary changes”. But, ever the forward thinker, he has persevered through his work to provide guidelines for working with nature that, when they were applied, have been successful in protecting or restoring health to land and communities. So it is that Ken’s Gorongosa thesis is not just a breathtaking analysis of an ecosystem in the heart of Africa; it also reflects a way of working that provides a model for other ecosystem analyses. By reading the form and function of ecosystems and their salient components in a holistic way, the thesis provides guidelines for working with nature that, when applied, would be successful in protecting or restoring health to land and communities. The research The beginnings of Ken’s understanding of the Gorongosa ecosystem began with discussions

Framework of the Gorongosa Ecosystem. Mozambique In November 1977 Ken Tinley (pictured above) was awarded his DSc for his thesis on the Gorongosa ecosystem. Its title Framework of the Gorongosa Ecosystem. Mozambique reflects well Tinley’s holistic approach to the numerous ecological studies he has researched and

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