Transboundary Conservation: The Politics of Ecological Integrity in the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed the emergence of an ostensibly surprising coalition of interests around the notion of Transboundary Natural Resource Management (TBNRM) in Southern Africa. Deep green 鈥榖ioregionalists鈥�, conservation biologists and neoliberal development advocates have found common cause in arguing for the re-establishing ecological integrity across 鈥榓rtificial鈥� frontiers and administrative boundaries. This concept has impacts far beyond the realms of biodiversity protection and 鈥榥atural resource management鈥�. It is bound up with regional debates on national sovereignty, land reform and poverty alleviation. This paper explores the ideological, political and economic rationales for TBNRM with particular reference to Zimbabwe鈥檚 involvement in the flagship Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park initiative, which spans Zimbabwe, South Africa and Mozambique. It investigates the competing agendas, potential impacts, and points of conflict surrounding the initiative at global, national and local levels, and explores the potential impacts on agrarian livelihoods.

Citation

Wolmer, W. Transboundary Conservation: The Politics of EcologicalIntegrity in the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park. Institute of Development Studies, Brighton, UK (2003) 30 pp. [Sustainable Livelihoods in Southern Africa Research Paper 4]

Updates to this page

Published 1 January 2003