Efficacious trees and the politics of forestation in Uganda

Abstract

This paper explores the role of trees in the politics of forestation in Uganda from the vantage point of recent object-oriented philosophy. Rather than conceiving of trees as passive, a substrate of thought, or serving utilitarian ends in human action, this paper stresses their autonomous ontological efficacy. First, it shows how trees themselves, in this case the monumental Milicia excelsa, matter to (post-)colonial politics in the country through affective materiality. Second, considering the Eucalyptus grandis, it argues that the species has a variety of qualities that unfold under different circumstances and to different effects, and, in this way, complicate the government of forestation. At the same time, however, there is another potentiality of the tree; one that allows the government of forestation across difference. Third, the paper emphasises the adaptability of trees and argues that this trait enables present-day reforestation, in which trees are often disciplined in growing schemes and subsequently denied their treeness. In conclusion, I contend that the empirical case furthers the engagement with politics in object-oriented approaches, and argue that this is no mere academic exercise but also has implications for the practice of forest stewardship.