Thesis (D.Admin.(Public Administration))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Summary and abstract in English. Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

The study probes intergovernmental relations in the management of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (GLTP). The GLTP is established by trilateral agreement among South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Transfrontier parks are new phenomena in South Africa and Southern Africa. The novelty of the phenomena justifies the conduct of research with a view to uncover and add new knowledge to the study of Public Administration. The focus of the thesis is on the different types of governmental relations necessary for the successful management of the GLTP. More emphasis in the thesis is on the contribution made by South Africa to the improvement of relations, successful management and development of the GLTP. The relations analysed in the thesis are international and national in nature. Furthermore, the essence of the sovereignty of the state, globalization, the African Renaissance, the contribution made by international institutions, provincial, and local government receive attention in the thesis. Tourism management, stakeholders, the state of tourism in the three countries and challenges facing South Africa and the GLTP in the promotion of tourism are assessed as tourism has become a significant growth area in the economies of most developing countries. / Thesis (DAdmin (Public Administration))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / School of Public Management and Administration (SPMA) / DAdmin / unrestricted

Within the broad field of global environmental history this master thesis analyses transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs) also known as 'peace parks', and explores how the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (GLTP) has been envisioned, described, motivated and implemented. Using Actor-Network Theory and Framing Analysis, the thesis analyses how the idea of the GLTP and the critique against it has been framed over time through the analysis of official reports and academic research in combination with in-depth interviews with key actors. By approaching the topic of transfrontier conservation in a broad manner, and by incorporating a wide variety of sources, the thesis attempts to go beyond single explanations of the phenomenon and, instead, provide a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the transfrontier conservation idea linked to the GLTP and its history. The thesis shows that the rise of transfrontier conservation involves a complex network of actors, spanning over local-global and public-private scales. Integrated networks are formed between key actors including national governments and conservation authorities, donor agencies, NGOs – in particular the Peace Parks Foundation, and civil society. The GLTP has been framed as a way to achieve three main goals: biodiversity conservation, community development through ecotourism and public-private partnerships, and regional peace and security. The thesis shows that the framing has shifted over time, from a strict conservation focus to more inclusive approaches where social aspects are seen as increasingly important for the long term sustainability of TFCAs. But the idea that transfrontier conservation can resolve all regional problems, from political cooperation to wildlife management to local socio-economic development, is also contested in this study. The thesis illuminates a gap between official policy/management reports and academic studies related primarily to the role of community development in the framing and implementation of the GLTP. Despite various challenges that hinder the effective implementation of the goals and visions of the park such as wildlife crime, insufficient community involvement and problematic legal and policy arrangements, the thesis concludes that the GLTP represents an important contribution to global conservation commitments and needs to be viewed as a complex, long-term and constantly evolving project.

Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs) are considered a suitable strategy to combine nature conservation and poverty alleviation in southern Africa, usually through ecotourism. There have, however, been critical voices questioning whether this is actually succeeding. Many researchers claim that the conservation and tourism efforts are leaving the local communities at greater risks of impoverishment rather than helping them. This study consults previous research to examine this issue through the examples of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (GLTFCA), and the communities living close to its National Parks in Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The methodology used is a systematic literature study of 26 secondary sources. The study finds that the previous research reveals that the experiences of the communities vary between different areas in the TFCA. The general feeling is that of displacement in different ways, except in those communities that have found ways of empowering and developing themselves; through tourism schemes. Otherwise, the attitude from the authorities in the national parks of the TFCA seems to be that the conservation and tourism efforts in the area are given priority over the local residents’ needs. Theories such as systems ecology, sustainable development and deep ecology may have answers to this issue on paper, however judging from the reality presented in the literature used in this study they are not realistic in practice. What is obvious is that economic interests are prioritized in the GLTFCA just as in the rest of the world.

Conflict is inevitable but sustainable development is achievable. An analysis of the mix between development and conflict in two communities revealed the imperatives needed to strike a balance between conflict and sustainable development. While conflicts over natural resources are neither a new phenomenon nor are they inevitable, it is the approaches adopted to manage them that generate interests and makes a difference between peace and violence. Thus, conflicts associated with wilderness or TFCA development initiatives such as the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (GLTP) have attracted significant interest from various stakeholders. While the GLTP is a flagship conservation initiative in Southern Africa designed to integrate different land uses for socio-economic development, it is littered with conflicts. Through documenting the experiences of two communities involved in development conflicts, a determination was sought to understand the efficacy of approaches used to manage the conflict. Using mainly questionnaires and personal interviews, perceptions and attitudes of key informants were solicited. Unresolved historical problems reincarnated to haunt current conservation projects as memories of unresolved past events reflected negatively on new related initiatives. Different approaches adopted in managing these conflicts resulted in significantly different outcomes. Local stakeholder involvements were inadequate, but were identified as pertinent to successful sustainable conservation and development. Unless local communities are assured of real benefits from new conservation initiatives it became evident that recurrent conflicts would be inevitable. The findings reveal that current conservation initiatives should be underpinned by emerging inclusivity theories in the conservation discourse. A broad range of stakeholders should embrace this new paradigm based on the philosophy that conservation efforts that exclude local communities are bound to be unsustainable. We found out that it is in the interests of all for policy makers to come up with policies that recognise the critical role local communities play, while subscribing to the regional and international standards for best practices in the conservation business.

"In a world beset by conflict and division, peace is one of the cornerstones of the future. Peace parks are building blocks in this process, not only in our region, but potentially in the entire world." These words of the l ate- former President Nelson Mandela of South Africa on the concept of Peace Parks, underl ines their importance beyond the na tural into the human domain . This disser ta tion focusses on an understanding o f Peace Parks or Transfrontier Conservat ion Areas (TFCAs) in the context of southern Africa and shows how c ol laboration can be used as a tool for the development o f these a re as . T h e t hr ee m ai n a im s of “TFC As ” are t o co nse rv e bio lo gic al d iversity, crea te a plat form for pover ty allevia tion and most importantl y, to promote a culture of peace amongst all nati ons i nvol ved in their development. In order to address this concept, the Great Limpopo Transfront ier Conservation Area (GLTFCA) i s used as an example of how South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe are col laborating their ef for ts towards common goals in terms of biological conserva tion and pover ty alleviation as wel l tou rism and economic development . I n sum, this dissert ation ana lyses col laboration and cooperation in depth as a tool f or t our ism development wi thin the context of t ransfrontier conservation areas in sout hern Africa. / Dissertation (MHCS)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / tm2015 / Historical and Heritage Studies / MHCS / Unrestricted

<p>This dissertation explores local people's framing of externally driven biodiversity conservation approaches in the context of transfrontier conservation initiatives. It uses data from the Madimbo corridor, a specific locality within the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area, situated to the northeast of South Africa along the South Africa-Zimbabwe boundary. It shows that livelihoods, historical experiences with external interventions and exclusion from policy-making processes and programme implementation influence local strategies for engaging with external interventions. Thus, an analysis of framing of external interventions at a local level should establish the following: the role of natural resources in sustaining local livelihoods / local historical experiences with an external intervention / iii) the nature of multi-level actor interactions from local resource dependent people, to national, regional and global actors involved in or affected by an intervention. The study uses a detailed case study of Bennde Mutale village to trace local people&rsquo / s ideas, ways of speaking and actions in response to the implementation of a large-scale transfrontier conservation initiative. The study finds that local livelihoods play a central role in local responses to the changes that transfrontier conservation bring upon people's lives. Many see further exclusion, while some also see and hope for a restoration of the socio-cultural border region. The globally significant biodiversity - to be conserved for &lsquo / future generations&rsquo / &ndash / at the same time constitutes the natural resources that sustain local people&rsquo / s livelihoods. Further, local livelihoods are more diverse than is commonly acknowledged in literature advocating for transfrontier conservation. This lack of acknowledgement of local diversification contributes to the main observation made in this study: that current processes of transfrontier conservation end up replicating and re-inventing the multiple forms of exclusion that have characterised state conservation practices for over a century. While transfrontier conservation enables the freer movement of wildlife, it in fact further constrains the movements of people whose mobility within less closely controlled border regions remains centrally important to survival. At the same time, state actors come into the area with contradicting and conflicting demands ranging from the beneficial advocacy role for land rights to the enforcement of conservation through fences and game rangers, experienced as a direct infringement on livelihood possibilities. The study concludes that there is a need to rethink transfrontier conservation interventions. The diversity of local livelihood approaches needs to be considered more centrally and clearer understanding needs to be developed of how the promises of opportunities, betterment of lives and increased human mobility actually unfold in practice. In order to succeed and deliver on site - not only to high-class tourists seeking to view unique biodiversity but to local people - transfrontier conservation efforts need to engage multiple actors directly from the ground up and throughout the process of policy-making, programme conceptualisation and implementation.</p>

<p>This dissertation explores local people's framing of externally driven biodiversity conservation approaches in the context of transfrontier conservation initiatives. It uses data from the Madimbo corridor, a specific locality within the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area, situated to the northeast of South Africa along the South Africa-Zimbabwe boundary. It shows that livelihoods, historical experiences with external interventions and exclusion from policy-making processes and programme implementation influence local strategies for engaging with external interventions. Thus, an analysis of framing of external interventions at a local level should establish the following: the role of natural resources in sustaining local livelihoods / local historical experiences with an external intervention / iii) the nature of multi-level actor interactions from local resource dependent people, to national, regional and global actors involved in or affected by an intervention. The study uses a detailed case study of Bennde Mutale village to trace local people&rsquo / s ideas, ways of speaking and actions in response to the implementation of a large-scale transfrontier conservation initiative. The study finds that local livelihoods play a central role in local responses to the changes that transfrontier conservation bring upon people's lives. Many see further exclusion, while some also see and hope for a restoration of the socio-cultural border region. The globally significant biodiversity - to be conserved for &lsquo / future generations&rsquo / &ndash / at the same time constitutes the natural resources that sustain local people&rsquo / s livelihoods. Further, local livelihoods are more diverse than is commonly acknowledged in literature advocating for transfrontier conservation. This lack of acknowledgement of local diversification contributes to the main observation made in this study: that current processes of transfrontier conservation end up replicating and re-inventing the multiple forms of exclusion that have characterised state conservation practices for over a century. While transfrontier conservation enables the freer movement of wildlife, it in fact further constrains the movements of people whose mobility within less closely controlled border regions remains centrally important to survival. At the same time, state actors come into the area with contradicting and conflicting demands ranging from the beneficial advocacy role for land rights to the enforcement of conservation through fences and game rangers, experienced as a direct infringement on livelihood possibilities. The study concludes that there is a need to rethink transfrontier conservation interventions. The diversity of local livelihood approaches needs to be considered more centrally and clearer understanding needs to be developed of how the promises of opportunities, betterment of lives and increased human mobility actually unfold in practice. In order to succeed and deliver on site - not only to high-class tourists seeking to view unique biodiversity but to local people - transfrontier conservation efforts need to engage multiple actors directly from the ground up and throughout the process of policy-making, programme conceptualisation and implementation.</p>

Thesis (MSc)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This dissertation explores local people's framing of externally driven biodiversity conservation approaches in the context of transfrontier conservation initiatives. It uses data from the Madimbo corridor, a specific locality within the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area, situated to the northeast of South Africa along the South Africa-Zimbabwe boundary. It shows that livelihoods, historical experiences with external interventions and exclusion from policy-making processes and programme implementation influence local strategies for engaging with external interventions. Thus, an analysis of framing of external interventions at a local level should establish the following: the role of natural resources in sustaining local livelihoods; local historical experiences with an external intervention; iii) the nature of multi-level actor interactions from local resource dependent people, to national, regional and global actors involved in or affected by an intervention. The study uses a detailed case study of Bennde Mutale village to trace local people's ideas, ways of speaking and actions in response to the implementation of a large-scale transfrontier conservation initiative. The study finds that local livelihoods play a central role in local responses to the changes that transfrontier conservation bring upon people's lives. Many see further exclusion, while some also see and hope for a restoration of the socio-cultural border region. The globally significant biodiversity - to be conserved for 'future generations' - at the same time constitutes the natural resources that sustain local people's livelihoods. Further, local livelihoods are more diverse than is commonly acknowledged in literature advocating for transfrontier conservation. This lack of acknowledgement of local diversification contributes to the main observation made in this study: that current processes of transfrontier conservation end up replicating and re-inventing the multiple forms of exclusion that have characterised state conservation practices for over a century. While transfrontier conservation enables the freer movement of wildlife, it in fact further constrains the movements of people whose mobility within less closely controlled border regions remains centrally important to survival. At the same time, state actors come into the area with contradicting and conflicting demands ranging from the beneficial advocacy role for land rights to the enforcement of conservation through fences and game rangers, experienced as a direct infringement on livelihood possibilities. The study concludes that there is a need to rethink transfrontier conservation interventions. The diversity of local livelihood approaches needs to be considered more centrally and clearer understanding needs to be developed of how the promises of opportunities, betterment of lives and increased human mobility actually unfold in practice. In order to succeed and deliver on site - not only to high-class tourists seeking to view unique biodiversity but to local people - transfrontier conservation efforts need to engage multiple actors directly from the ground up and throughout the process of policy-making, programme conceptualisation and implementation. / South Africa