Transfrontier parks and development in southern Africa: The case of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park

Abstract

The interface between local communities and transfrontier parks has received considerable attention, yet the utility of the transfrontier concept in developing livelihoods and environmental sustainability in southern Africa remains questionable. This paper argues that the benefits of transfrontier parks at regional, national and community levels cannot be overstated; neither should the problems be underestimated. Transfrontier parks may be viable alternatives in achieving development that is sustainable by protecting southern Africa's fragile environments, generating more funds and bringing significant and major improvements to the lives of the rural poor. At the same time, transfrontier parks raise issues of sovereignty of national governments, create complexity in governance processes and can lead to the needs of rural communities being sacrificed. Therefore, there is a need to find ways to reconcile conflictual and sometimes controversial circumstances in the establishment of transfrontier parks and, inquire further into the programmatic blueprints for transfrontier initiatives.

Local participation in transfrontier tourism: Case of Sengwe community in Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area, Zimbabwe

“…Although community participation in sustainable tourism development is considered pivotal for the sustainability of the GLTFCA, there are no clear guidelines about how the affected 2 communities in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Mozambique could be involved and integrated in tourism developments. Previous studies in the GLTFCA have revealed, however, that there is rather minimal community driven tourism taking place in the area (Bhatasara et al, 2013, Ferreira, 2004, Manwa, 2012. Furthermore, it is observed that since the introduction of transfrontier conservation areas, the people living on the boundary of this rich tourism resource base are often forgotten and potentially marginalized (Andersson et al, 2013;Chirozva et al, 2013).…”

“…Southern Africa has experienced the growth of transfrontier conservation initiatives over the past fifteen years (Andersson et al, 2013;Bhatasara et al, 2013;.…”

Effects of Institutional Arrangements and Policies on Community Participation in Wildlife Tourism in Africa

“…Several governments in SSA have begun leveraging wildlife tourism for the attainment of socio-economic benefits and environmental protection (Christie et al, 2013;Thondhlana et al, 2015;Mbaiwa, 2017;UNCTAD, 2017;Chakrabarty et al, 2019). This emerges as the result of protected areas being located within the rural regions of countries, often characterized with low development, high levels of poverty and the lack of effective initiatives to combat these socio-economic conditions (Bhatasara et al, 2013;Belicia & Islam, 2018;Black & Cobbinah, 2018). Consequently, wildlife tourism, based on the principles of sustainable development, conservation and community inclusion, has been positioned as a powerful tool for job creation, poverty alleviation, sustainable livelihoods and local economic development for communities residing adjacent protected areas (Bhatasara et al, 2013;Larkin, 2014;Cobbinah et al, 2015;Mbaiwa, 2017;Snyman, 2017;UNCTAD, 2017;Black & Cobbinah, 2018;Kimbu & Tichaawa, 2018;Markwell, 2018;Panta & Thapa, 2018;Zanamwe et al, 2018).…”

“…Globally, there are approximately 440 Transfrontier parks, with southern Africa holding 10 of these Transfrontier parks in the region (Bhatasara et al, 2013). The emergence of Transfrontier conservation areas in Southern Africa resulted from the global recognition that the safeguarding of natural resources should take precedence over the international governance boundaries (Bhatasara et al, 2013). Often coined 'peace parks' these transboundary protected areas are widely supported as global solutions to conservation and poverty alleviation (Buscher, 2013).…”

“…Transfrontier parks are characterised by their multilayer of interests, including bordering communities, governments, international donors and NGOs, as well as the tourism industry (Ramutsindela, 2007;Bhatasara et al, 2013). In this regard, Transfrontier Parks are frequently criticised over their political and institutional nature, in which several studies question the capacity of these protected areas to contribute to job creation and poverty alleviation in host communities as their introduction has since severely marginalised surrounding communities (Ramutsindela, 2007;Bhatasara et al, 2013;Schoon, 2013;Chiutsi & Saarinen, 2017;Zanamwe et al, 2018). Moreover, Chiutsi & Saarinen (2017) maintain that transfrontier parks cannot contribute to socio-economic development, through wildlife tourism, without adequate community participation to derive the conceptualised benefits.…”