The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area : Community Benefits and Challenges (2001- 2020)

Abstract

The past two decades have seen the proliferation of transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs) in the southern African region, of which the second, the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (the GLTFCA), which is the focus of this study, was established in 2002. It is made up of national parks in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa. The aim of the transfrontier conservation areas is not only to improve biodiversity conservation, but to also enhance socio-economic development in rural areas and to contribute to reducing poverty in local communities.

The aim of this study was to trace the nature of the benefits to local communities living within and near the GLTFCA since its establishment in 2002. How have communities benefitted and what challenges have they faced over the years? This study focused on two communities, the Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe and the Kruger National Park in South Africa. The major findings of this study revolve around the three major aspects addressed in this study namely: the nature of the benefits to local communities because of the GLTFCA initiative; the nature of the challenges they face and lastly, their involvement in the decision-making processes. The major benefits to the Makuleke community in the Kruger National Park and the communities in the Gonarezhou National Park are summarised under the following themes: benefits from tourism, benefits from the enhancement of livelihoods, benefits arising from access to resources in the parks and benefits from cross-border access and trade. These are also the broad categories of potential benefits from TFCAs highlighted in numerous SADC and GLTFCA official documents.

Tourism has been a major drive of economic income and the sustainment of livelihoods of local communities, particularly in the Kruger National Park. Tourism has also led to a market for arts and crafts through the Kruger Park’s arts and crafts outlets. Such opportunities also exist in the Gonarezhou National Park. The transfer of knowledge (also envisaged as a potential benefit to communities) has manifested in different ways for communities in the Kruger and Gonarezhou National Parks. Over the years rangers and community members have also been trained to work at lodges or as rangers in the conservation and anti-poaching units by SANParks in the Pafuri area. In the Gonarezhou Park, most of the employees are from local communities while community members are also hired for the construction and maintenance of camps in the park. Communities also benefit from access to resources such as medicinal plants and the cutting of grass for livestock during droughts, that are found inside the national parks. These benefits are both tangible and intangible.

Although communities have benefitted in several ways through the establishment of the GLTFCA, several challenges have also been experienced. Despite the income- generating projects that have resulted from the GLTFCA initiative, these have not had a tangible effect on the alleviation of poverty in the communities. A further challenge over the years has been human-wildlife conflict and the lack of compensation for losses incurred by local communities which result in a lack of trust in the management of the parks.

Scholarly contributions on the benefits to communities are scant and those that have focused on communities have addressed a particular issue. It is therefore difficult to establish a holistic picture of the nature of community benefits and the challenges communities in the GLTFCA face.