Thomas Lekan is Professor and Associate Chair in the History Department, affiliate of the School of Earth, Ocean and Environment, and Pearce Honors College Faculty Fellow at the University of South Carolina. Tom’s research examines European environmental history and the legacies of green imperialism. He focuses on the frictions between internationalist and Indigenous understandings of ecological commons and the uneven effects of tourism as a lever of sustainable development in East Africa during the decades of decolonization and early independence (ca. 1950-1980). His current research investigates FAO/IUCN efforts to promote game ranching in East Africa as a substitute for pastoralist livestock herding amid mid-century fears of a "world protein gap." This research casts doubt on neoliberal development schemes that make species “pay for themselves” by showing how these projects endanger local communities’ dietary practices and sever care-full relationships to animals and other non-human life.