The legitimacy of different conservation approaches in a transboundary protected area system

Date
2023-12
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Publisher
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Abstract
ENGLISH SUMMARY: This dissertation presents an interdisciplinary study of two park buffer systems, positioned in a larger transfrontier conservation system in Southern Africa. The first case study concerns the Makuleke community in South Africa who were empowered by winning back rights to their traditional land in the Kruger National Park (KNP) from which they had been evicted. The second case study concerns the displaced Xingwedzi community, across the border in Mozambique, who have been disempowered by losing the rights to their traditional land as a result of the Parque Nacional do Limpopo (PNL)/Limpopo National Park being proclaimed. Examining the empowered and the disempowered populations situated in the same transboundary protected area provided the researcher with insights into issues of power, equity and justice related to the different governance arrangements that parks implement for natural resource protection. Institutional theory provides the main orientation of the study. A mixed methodology approach was utilised to gather data from a variety of sources associated with each resource regime. First, the historical context of past resource regimes at both national and local level was examined to determine how the historical institutions influence the current governance systems. Vatn’s (2015) Environmental Governance Framework (EGS) was utilised to analyse the interplay between the institutional and cognitive processes and the attributes of the protected areas (PAs) and the ways they influenced a set of outcomes. The outcomes analysed include (i) the state of conflict between the park and the local actors, (ii) the local attitudes towards the protected areas according to local actors, (iii) the sense of well-being of local actors in the communal areas, and finally (iv) the perceived viability of the natural resource protection strategies in each protected area. Lastly, the criteria of input and output legitimacy were applied to evaluate both procedural justice and distributive justice of the current park buffer governance structures. The findings reveal that remnants of traditional governance systems from previous resource regimes are still influential in both cases. Regression models show that giving legal rights to producer communities to access benefits from PAs is associated with lower levels of conflict as well as better protection of natural resources in the PA. The findings of this study indicate that the provision of key social services, such as access to clean water, inside or nearby the villages of the affected communities is associated with a local sense of well-being and good relations between the park and the community members. However, the temporality and fragility of infrastructure means that manmade capital is rarely able to provide the same level of accumulated social services in the long term as fully functioning natural systems. It is concluded that it is not the material goods or technology that ultimately facilitates the affected communities’ survival, needs and dignity in the new area to which they resettle. It is rather the institutional environment that is key to achieving distributive justice. Giving those communities who are ancestrally connected to the PA land legal rights to benefits, which are compatible with conservation objectives, is therefore the most critical component of PA compensation programmes.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Met hierdie studie is interdisiplenere navorsing in Suidelike-Afrika gedoen op park bufferstelsels in ‘n groter oorgrensbewaringsgebied. Die eerste gevallestudie het betrekking op die Maluleke gemeenskap in Suid-Afrika wat bemagtig was deur die regte tot hulle tradisionele grond in die Kruger Nasionale Park (KNP), van waar hulle voorheen uitgesit is, terug te wen. Die tweede gevallestudie het betrekking op die verplaasde Xingwedzi gemeenskap, oor die grens in Mosambiek, wat ontmagtig was deur die verlies op regte op hulle tradisionele grond as gevolg van proklamasie van die Parque Nacional do Limpopo/Limpopo National Park (PNL). Ondersoek van die bemagtigde en ontmagtigde bevolkings in dieselfde oorgrens beskermingsgebied, het die navorser insig gegee in kwessies van mag, bilikheid en geregtigheid wat verband hou met die verskillende bestuursreelings wat parke gebruik vir beskerming van natuurlewe. Institusionele teorie voorsien die hoof-orientasie vir die studie. ‘n Gemengde metodologiese aanslag is gebruik om data van verskeie bronne, geassosieer met elke hulpbron regime, te versamel. Die historiese konteks van hulpbronregimes wat in die verlede toegepas is, is in die eerste plek op beide die nasionale sowel as op die plaaslikse vlakke ondersoek om te bepaal hoe die historiese istellings die huidige bestuurstelsel beinvloed het. Vatn (2015) se ‘Environmental Governance Framework (EGF)’ is toe gebruik om die interaksie tussen die institusionele en kognitiewe prosesse en eienskappe van die beskermde gebiede (BG) te ontleed en hoe dit ‘n stel uitkomste beinvloed het. Die uitkomsontleding sluit in: (i) die staat van konflik tussen die park en die plaaslike rolspelers, (ii) die plaaslike houding volgens die plaaslike rolspelers teenoor die beskermde gebiede, (iii) die gevoel van welstand van plaaslike rolspelers in die gemeenskaplike gebiede en laastens (iv) die waargeneemde lewensvatbaarheid van die natuurbeskermingstrategiee in elke beskermde gebied. Laastens, is die kriteria van inset- en uitset- legitimiteit toegepas, om beide prosedurele geregtigheid en verdelingsgeregtigheid van die huidige parkbufferbestuurstrukture te evalueer. Die bevindinge van die studie wys dat die oorblyfsels van tradisionele bestuurstelsels van vorige hulpbronregimes in beide gevalle steeds ‘n invloed het. Regressiemodelle wys dat indien die wettige regte aan vervaardiger gemeenskappe gegee word om toegang tot die voordele van BG’s te he, dit geassosieer word met laer vlakke van konflik asook beter beskerming van natuurlikehulpbronne in die BG. Die bevindings van die studie dui aan dat die voorsiening van sleutel sosialedienste, soos toegang tot skoon water binne of naby die dorpies van die geaffekteerde gemeenskappe, geassosieer word met welstand en goeie verhoudings tussen die park en lede van die gemeenskap is As gevolg van die tydelikheid van die infrastruktuur beteken dit dat die kunsmatige skep van kapital nie werklik in staat is om dieselfde vlak van kumulatiewe sosiale dienste oor n lang tydperk. Ter afsluiting is daar tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat dit nie materiele goedere of tegnologie is wat uiteindelik die gemeenskappe se oorlewing, behoeftes en waardigheid bepaal in die nuwe omgewing waar hulle hervestig word nie. Dit is eerder die institutionele omgewing wat die sleutel tot die bereiking van verdelingsgeregtigheid is. Om die gemeenskappe, wat deur hulle voorvaders aan die BG verbind is, reg tot voordele wat versoenbaar is met bewaringsdoelwitte te bied, is die mees kritieke komponent van (PA) vergoedingsprogramme.
Description
Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2023.
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