Thesis (MS en S)--Stellenbosch University, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: More than half of the population of Southern Africa live in rural areas and lead a marginal existence. They are dependant on natural resources that are to their disposal for their survival. The resources that they use are renewable but are currently exploited faster that it can be replaced. The pressure that the rural populations are placing on nature cannot be sustained. The concept of "sustainable development" came into being in 1987. The principle of this new concept was to permit development as to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable development proposes a lifestyle that preserve nature as well as social and cultural characteristics of a community. The tourism industry of Southern Africa has great potential and is still growing. Ecotourism, the idea of nature based tourism that will benefit both the socio-economic circumstances of the community and conservation, have increased in the past ten years. If ecotourism is managed correctly, it can be the answer to poverty in many rural communities and at the same time conserving nature. There are organisations that concentrate on sustainable rural development and that introduce communities to the potentials and benefits of the tourism industry. There are already communities that adopted this new paradigm with great success. The aim of this study is to make people conscious to the problem of rural poverty and the impacts it has had on the environment already. Secondly the study also presents a solution to rural poverty by the development of tourism in rural communities. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Meer as die helfte van Suider-Afrika se bevolking leef in landelike gebiede en voer 'n marginale bestaan. Hulle is aangewese op die natuurlike hulpbronne wat tot hulle beskikking is vir hulle voortbestaan. Die hulpbronne is hernubaar maar word tans vinniger verbruik as wat dit vervang word. Die druk wat die arm landelike bevolking op die natuur plaas kan nie volgehou word nie. In 1987 het die begrip "volhoubare ontwikkeling" die lig gesien. Die beginsel van die konsep is om ontwikkeling te laat geskied sodat daar aan die behoeftes van die hede voldoen word sonder om die behoeftes van die toekomstige geslagte te belemmer. Volhoubare ontwikkeling stel 'n lewenswyse voor wat nie net die natuur preserveer nie, maar ook die sosiale en kulturele sy van 'n gemeenskap. Die toerismebedryf in Suider-Afrika het baie potensiaal, en is steeds besig om te groei. Ekotoerisme, die idee van natuur-gebasseerde toerisme wat kan bydra tot die verbetering van sosio-ekonomiese toestande en bewaring van die omgewing, het toegeneem in die laaste tien jaar. Indien ekotoerisme reg bestuur word, kan dit vir 'n groot deel van die landelike bevolking 'n uitkoms tot armoede bied terwyl die natuur bewaar word. Daar is organisasies wat konsentreer op volhoubare landelike ontwikkeling en wat die gemeenskap bekend stel aan die voordele en potensiaal van die toerismebedryf. Daar het reeds verskeie gemeenskappe betrokke geraak in die toerismebedryf met groot welsae. Hierdie studie is 'n oorsig van bestaande literatuur oor die rol van toerisme en spesifiek, ekotoerisme in volhoubare ontwikkeling in landelike dele.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Technology in Environmental Health In the Faculty of Applied Sciences Department of Environmental and Occupational Studies At Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2013 / Southern Africa region is experiencing a multiplicity of transfrontier conservation projects, which simply put in its metaphorical name ‘Peace Parks’. The rapid growth of transfrontier conservation areas present the fulfilment of a vision of a ‘boundless’ and ‘borderless’ Southern Africa, straddling geo-political boundaries of once colonially imposed cartography of sovereign statism. The ecological amalgamation of these vast conservation areas are underpinned by various social, political, ecological and economic fundamentals envisioned by governments in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region together with conservation partners to transform the life of people and enhance sustainable management of natural resources. The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (GLTP) that involves Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe, was born out of this vision. Equally so, from its conceptualisation, the GLTP sought to achieve sustainable biodiversity and ecosystem conservation, promote economic growth, support rural development, be a building block for peace and regional economic integration. The planners also criticized inappropriate geo-political boundaries imposed by colonialism, which historically separated biospheres and the people of identical culture. The artificiality of boundaries, therefore, obstructed cultural links of communities and restricted wildlife migration as well. This affected natural dispersion of fugitive wildlife. Thus, the GLTP’s ambitious conservation plan address these issues. In so doing, the GLTP governance architecture as it stands today produced multi-level governance institutions whose approaches were found in this study to be at variance with local people’s livelihood expectations and conservation processes. It is in this view that this research sought to examine the impact of governance institutions on communities’ livelihoods and sustainable conservation of natural resources in the GLTP. Using various methods of empirical research such as interviews, household questionnaires, focus group discussions (including using the Schutte Scale), field observations and secondary data analysis, the researcher found that the current GLTP institutional configurations and its resource governance philosophy are at variance with local natural resource governance processes, and contradict local resource needs. Thus, there is inherent mistrust and conflict over skewed natural resource benefits. Most of them benefits accrue to government entities and the private companies that invested in tourism. Furthermore, it was found that the GLTP administrative governance architecture from the onset, presented complex competing environmental interests among conservation stakeholders against those of communities. The GLTP resource governance as it stands, is conspicuously not inclusive with the local communities playing a minimal role to leverage on the abundant natural resource for to support local livelihoods. One thing that came out clearly from the research is that they are not included to participate in conservation of the GLTP natural resources. This study therefore argues that there is potential to jeopardize prospects for the GLTP to achieve its objectives of sustainable conservation, promoting rural development and reduction of rural poverty. Empirically, it was also confirmed that the GLTP is at cross-purpose with the expectations of the communities. Local participation in sustainable conservation is consequentially subdued and weak. Perhaps, if the lofty aims of the GLTP are to be achieved, this study noted that the local people prefer the natural resources governance, conservation decision-making processes and conservation stakeholder relationships to be fair and acceptable to a cross-section of stakeholders. This includes ascertaining broad participation of the local people in conservation and environmental decision-making as crucial ingredients in guaranteeing local livelihoods and motivating communities to support conservation initiatives through use of wildlife proceeds for the development of communities. In addition, a concern was raised that powerful state agencies and conservation organisations are at the fore in defining institutional processes and resource governance systems with no regard to the local institutions. Thus, the envisaged win-win situation in conservation to transform rural communities is far from being realised. The GLTP governance structure forecloses the local people from participation. Consequently, local conservation morale and collaboration has adversely diminished, with overt preponderance of multi-level institutional processes over local processes in terms of natural resource management. This has tended to marginalise local institutions and prevent the local people from complementing conservation efforts. Manifestly, there is deep-seated livelihood insecurity, local environmental conservation marginalisation. This led the study to question the sustainability of the GLTP considering its exclusionary governance approach when dealing with communities. Another major concern is that planning of eco-tourism projects are paternalistically government led processes and exclusively private sector driven than being community oriented. Concerns arise that the much-lauded and publicized promise of eco-tourism benefits to the communities, have not materialised in the last ten years since the GLTP establishment in 2002. This has led local communities to question the GLTP’s economic benefits and impact on their lives. Instead of working with communities as equal stakeholders, the GLTP governance architecture has isolated them from playing an effective collaborative role in conservation and reaping of benefits. It was observed that the attendant GLTP governance trajectories reflect a narrow web of contesting conservation interests at variance with communities’ expectations. The heavy-handed administrative role of multi-level institutions and that of conservation agencies, have therefore, not fostered synergies for local residents’ participation in the management of natural resources. The elusiveness of the GLTP governance therefore puts it far from ensuring that the local people are part of conservation processes, hence falling short of capturing local contributions and local buy-in. Such governance injunctions complicate guaranteeing equal opportunity of resource access and equity, and it is less enabling for communities to hold together, cooperate and collaborate in conservation. Perhaps, an ideal situation would be to have a resource governance system that prevents the ‘tragedy of the commons’ and at the same time preventing the ‘tragedy of the local common man’. In this regard, this research made proposal in chapter 8, suggesting a synergised governance, decision-making and an a cocktail of an amalgam economic framework that can be adopted to solve the problems identified. These frameworks enable local people’s resource rights to be realised and the fusion of local expectations for conservation sustainability. This study aimed at examining the GLTP governance process impact on Makuleke and Sengwe communities in terms of their livelihoods, local participation in natural resource conservation and participation in natural resource decision-making process in the governance of the GLTP.