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False Legitimacies: The Rhetoric of Economic Opportunities in the Expansion of Conservation Areas in Southern Africa

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Book cover Institutional Arrangements for Conservation, Development and Tourism in Eastern and Southern Africa

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Abstract

The trend to expand conservation areas by creating linking corridors or transfrontier conservation areas has become increasingly prevalent in southern Africa over the last 20 years. In the marketing of these initiatives as the way forward in conservation, strong emphasis is placed on the economic opportunities they allegedly generate for local communities. In addition, many ecologists and conservationists stress the ecological logic of linking conservation areas to allow for the migration of species. Using the example of Madikwe Game Reserve, in South Africa’s North West Province—where a proposed ‘Heritage Park’ initiative aims to create a conservation corridor connecting Madikwe and Pilanesberg game reserves, and eventually to extend the park across the border into Botswana—we explore influences and pressures that fuel and justify this expansionist trend, and discuss the complex repercussions arising from such policies. The chapter focuses on the rhetoric of economic opportunities and poverty alleviation and the perceived logic, on the part of many ecologists and conservationists, that wildlife corridors and the expansion of protected areas are the way forward for conservation. We raise a number of ecological and economic contradictions and we argue that a focus on expansion not only further marginalizes local populations but can also be seen as a way to avoid dealing with the management of wildlife (over)populations.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See http://www.parksnorthwest.co.za/madikwe/conservation.html, consulted on May 29, 2013.

  2. 2.

    This ‘independence’ was not internationally recognized.

  3. 3.

    This figure includes employees who do not originally come from the area, but who had secured employment in the Reserve and were renting accommodation in one of the three villages and so fell within the NWP&TB’s employment targeting zone. Excluded in the figure are people who come from other villages, such as Obakeng on the far side of Molatedi, which are also in close proximity to the Reserve and should therefore be considered ‘local’, but are not part of the ‘local community’ (Molatedi, Supingstad and Lekgophung) as defined by the Madikwe Initiative. Because of the ‘local community’ designation, the populations of those three villages were targeted by the community liaison officer for employment opportunities, and thus most employees in the Reserve were from these villages.

  4. 4.

    That the 2000 survey found that over 70 % of employed people across the villages were migrant labourers working in metropolitan areas such as Johannesburg, Soweto and Rustenburg is a clear indication that endogenous discourse is far from unexposed to outside influence.

  5. 5.

    For critical analyses of the Makuleke ‘success story’ see Spierenburg et al. (2006, 2008) and Robins and Van der Waal (2008).

  6. 6.

    See http://www.parksnorthwest.co.za/madikwe/conservation.html

  7. 7.

    See http://www.parksnorthwest.co.za/madikwe/conservation.html

  8. 8.

    See http://www.peaceparks.org

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Stellenbosch University, 7602, Matieland, South Africa

    Sarah A. Bologna

  2. Department of Organization Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Marja Spierenburg

Authors
  1. Sarah A. Bologna
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  2. Marja Spierenburg
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sarah A. Bologna .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    René van der Duim

  2. Social Sciences, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Machiel Lamers

  3. Maastricht School of Management, Maastricht, Limburg, The Netherlands

    Jakomijn van Wijk

Interviews

Interviews

Int. 1::

Interview with North-West Parks & Tourism Board Resource Economist, 11 June 2007; conducted by Sarah Bologna (SAB).

Int. 2::

Interview with a former member of the Bophuthatswana parks Board, June 2007; conducted by SAB.

Int. 3::

Interview with the general manager, Protected Areas Management, NWP&TB, 25 July 2000; Mmabatho, conducted by SAB.

Int. 4::

Interview with a director of Mafisa, 7 June 2007; conducted by SAB.

Int. 5::

Interview with the Park Warden of Madikwe Game Reserve, 4 April 2000; conducted by SAB.

Int. 6::

Interview with a (community) theatre group member, 25 September 2000; conducted by SAB.

Int. 7::

Interview with a herbicide operator participating in the Bush Clearing Project, 14 September 2000; conducted by SAB.

Int. 8::

Interview with a bush clearing contractor in Lekgophung, 26 August 2000; conducted by SAB.

Int. 9::

Interview with the Park Warden of Madikwe Game Reserve, October 2010; conducted by SAB and Marja Spierenburg (MJS).

Int. 10::

Interview with lodge owner, October 2010; conducted by SAB and MJS.

Int. 11::

Interview with lodge manager, October 2010; conducted by SAB and MJS.

Int. 12::

Interview with school teacher, October 2010; conducted by SAB and MJS.

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Bologna, S.A., Spierenburg, M. (2015). False Legitimacies: The Rhetoric of Economic Opportunities in the Expansion of Conservation Areas in Southern Africa. In: van der Duim, R., Lamers, M., van Wijk, J. (eds) Institutional Arrangements for Conservation, Development and Tourism in Eastern and Southern Africa. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9529-6_7

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