COMMUNITIES, WILDLIFE CONSERVATION, AND TOURISM-BASED DEVELOPMENT: CAN COMMUNITY-BASED NATURE TOURISM LIVE UP TO ITS PROMISE?

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The author would like to thank the many members of the Makuleke community, SANParks staff, and Friends of the Makuleke who shared their views.

Notes

2 Protected areas like Kruger National Park are places in which the State or the owner has imposed restrictions on the use of land and other natural resources to advance conservation.

3 David Hulme & Marshall W. Murphree, Community Conservation in Africa: An Introduction, in African Wildlife and Livelihoods: The Promise and Performance of Community Conservation 1,2 (David Hulme & Marshall W Murphree, eds., 2001).

4 See Edmund Barrow & Marshall W. Murphree, Community Conservation: From Concept to Practice, in African Wildlife and Livelihoods: The Promise and Performance of Community Conservation, 24, supra note 3.

5 William Adams & David Hulme, Conservation and Community: Changing Narratives, Policies and Practices in African Conservation, in African Wildlife and Livelihoods: The Promise and Performance of Community Conservation, 9 supra note 3; Donald S. Moore, Jake Kosek, & Anand Pandian, The Cultural Politics of Race and Nature: Terrains of Power and Practice, in Race, Nature, and the Politics of Difference 1 (Donald S. Moore, Jake Kosek, & Anand Pandian, eds., 2003); Roderick Nash, Wilderness and the American Mind (1973); Roderick P. Neumann, Imposing Wilderness: Struggles over Livelihood and Nature Preservation in Africa (1998); Nancy L. Peluso. Coercing Conservation—the Politics of State Resource Control, 3 Global Envtl. Change—Human Pol'y Dimensions 199 (1993); Michael P. Wells, Katrina Brandon, & L Hannah, People and Parks: Linking Protected Area Management with Local Communities (1992).

6 Roderick P Neumann, Primitive Ideas: Protected Area Buffer Zones and the Politics of Land in Africa, 28 Development & Change 559 (1997); Peluso, supra note 5.

7 See, for example, Charles Geisler & Essy Letsoalo, Rethinking Land Reform in South Africa: An Alternative Approach to Environmental Justice, 5 Soc. Res. Online (2000), 〈http://www.socresonline.org.uk/5/2/geisler.html〉

8 Clark C. Gibson, Politicians and Poachers: The Political Economy of Wildlife Policy in Africa (1999); N. Leader-Williams, S. D. Albon, and P. S. M. Berry, Illegal Exploitation of Black Rhinoceros and Elephant Populations: Patterns of Decline, Law Enforcement and Patrol Effort in Luangwa Valley, Zambia, 27 J. Applied Ecology 1055 (1990).

9 See, for example, Clive Spinage, Social Change and Conservation Misrepresentation in Africa, 32 Oryx 265 (1998).

10 Human geographers have demonstrated that the “local” is a product of interactions at multiple scales. I use extra-local here to refer to actors and dynamics beyond the formal territorial boundaries of the “community” involved in CBNRM, such as national government agencies, foreign donors, and private tourism ventures. Extra-local processes include conservation management fashions, global tourism trends, democratization, and economic liberalization.

11 Community interviews included a mix of leaders—customary authorities, elected officials, and officials of local organizations, elders, and young people. To protect informants' confidentiality, I do not identify the individuals interviewed by name.

12 Archives consulted include those of the Makuleke Communal Property Association, the Department of Land Affairs/ Land Claims Commission, South African National Parks and Kruger National Park.

13 Jane Carruthers, The Kruger National Park: A Social and Political History (1995); Neumann, supra note 5.

14 Some contend that this practice of greenlining—placing land under protected status and restricting human residence and use—is prevalent in the developing world and continues to result in dispossession and the criminalization of customary practices. Roderick P. Neumann, The Postwar Conservation Boom in British Colonial Africa, 7 Envtl. Hist. 22 (2002), Neumann, supranote 5; Charles Geisler, A New Kind of Trouble: Evictions in Eden, 55 Int'l Soc. Sci. J. 69 (2003).

15 My discussion of Makuleke history draws primarily from Patrick Harries, ‘A Forgotten Corner of the Transvaal’: Reconstructing the History of a Relocated Community through Oral Testimony and Song, in Class, Community and Conflict: South African Perspectives, 93 (Belinda Bozzoli, ed., 1987). The discussion of Kruger Park draws from Carruthers, supra note 13.

16 The Region constitutes about 24,000 hectares bounded by the Luvuvhu, Limpopo, and Pafuri (Mutale) rivers. The Region is part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park encompassing protected areas in Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Figure 1 is from the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, South Africa (Available at 〈http://www.environment.gov.za/Maps/PublishMaps/downloads/National/A4/Conservation_areas.gif〉. Figure 2 is adapted from Carruthers, supra note 13, at 102.

17 Harries, supra note 15.

18 Eddie Koch & Geoff De Beer, Land Reform in South Africa: The Potential Role of Tourism and Forestry to Promote Equity and Productivity in the Rural Economy, in at the Crossroads: Land and Agricultural Reform: South African into the Twenty-First Century (Ben Cousins, ed., 2000). As of December 12, 2001, 1 US dollar = 11.0849 South African Rand.

19 Harries, supra note 15.

20 The Transvaal Republic was one of four colonies united to create the modern South African state in 1910.

21 Carruthers, supra note 13; Harries, supra note 15. Figure adapted from Makuleke Land Claim Court documents.

22 Conrad Steenkamp, The Makuleke Land Claim: An Environmental Conflict (2001) (Doctoral Dissertation, University of Witswatersrand) (on file with University of Witswatersrand Library).

23 According to Harries, supra note 15, it was Chief Mhinga's complicity in the Makuleke's removal that gave him authority over the Makuleke, a related but largely independent clan.

24 The terms of the settlement are established in the “The Main Agreement Relating to the Makuleke Land Claim (as amended 11–13 December 1998),” which was incorporated into the Order in the Matter of the Makuleke Community (Claimant) Concerning the Pafuri Area of the Kruger National Park and Environs, Soutpansberg District, Northern Province, 15 December, 1998 90/98 Land Claims Court of the Republic of South Africa [herein after Restitution Agreement].

25 The Restitution Agreement included the proviso that the Makuleke Region would be administered as a contractual national park for 20 to 50 years. Contractual parks are part of the national parks system, but they remain under private ownership. A contract between the state and the owner sets the terms of park access and control. The Restitution Agreement allows either party to request the exclusion of the Makuleke Region from Kruger Park after 20 years on 5 years written notice.

26 Court documents indicate that restoration without conservation was unlikely. The Court Judgment states, “The restrictive conditions of title which the parties have agreed should be imposed were material in convincing the Court that it was appropriate to order restoration in this matter.” Order, supranote 24.

27 Makuleke CPA Constitution Section 5.4.

28 Koch & De Beer, supra note 18. In 1997, approximately 78 percent of households earned less than R1500 (∼$135) per month, and a large number of households depended on low-wage employment in Kruger Park. On average, there were eight people per household. B. N. Tapela & P. H. Omara-Ojungu, Towards Bridging the Gap between Wildlife Conservation and Rural Development in Post-apartheid South Africa: the Case of the Makuleke Community and the Kruger National Park, 81 S. Afr. Geographical J. 148, 149 & 152 (1999).

29 Parks officials, who cannot be considered neutral, frequently asserted in interviews that the Makuleke were being used.

30 Conrad Steenkamp & Jana Urh, Discovering Power Relations in a South African Cbnrm Case Study: The Makuleke Community of the Northern Province, in Empowering Communities to Manage Natural Resources: Case Studies from Southern Africa, 123 (Sheona Shackelton & Bruce Campbell, eds., 2000).

31 Several Friends of Makuleke expressed this view in interviews. Also see Steenkamp, supra note 22.

32 In this respect, the Makuleke are comparable to many collectives targeted for participatory resource management. The ecologically significant areas to be managed are often remote and the people living in them or dispossessed from them are politically and economically marginalized. Inequality is deeply sedimented in the terrain on which communities and partners seek to develop conservation projects.

33 Aninka Classens, ‘It Is Not Easy to Challenge a Chief’: Lessons from Rakgwadi (Programme for Land & Agrarian Stud., U. of the W. Cape, Research Report No. 9, 2001); Lungisile Ntsebeza, Land Tenure Reform, Traditional Authorities, and Rural Local Government in Post-Apartheid South Africa: Case Studies from the Eastern Cape Programme for Land & Agrarian Stud., U. of the W. Cape, Research Report No. 3, 1999); Stephen Turner & Hilde Ibsen, Land and Agrarian Reform in South Africa: A Status Report (Programme for Land & Agrarian Stud., U. of the W. Cape, Research Report No. 6, 2000).

34 The Court Order and Agreement officially acknowledge Makuleke residence in Ntlhaveni and obligate the State to secure rights for the Makuleke in Ntlhaveni. See Restitution Agreement, supranote 24.

35 Arun Agrawal & Clark Gibson, Enchantment and Disenchantment: The Role of Community in Natural Resource Conservation, 27 World Development 629 (1999).

36 Stephen R Kellert et al, Community Natural Resource Management: Promise, Rhetoric, and Reality, 13 Soc'y & Nat. Resources 705 (2000).

37 David Hulme & Marshall W Murphree, Community Conservation in Africa: An Introduction, in African Wildlife and Livelihoods: The Promise and Performance of Community Conservation 1 supra note 3; William Adams & David Hulme, Conservation and Community: Changing Narratives, Policies and Practices in African Conservation, in African Wildlife and Livelihoods: The Promise and Performance of Community Conservation, 9 supra note 3.

38 This approach seems most likely to meet with success in cases where the affected party was not subjected to coercion. For groups subject to forced removal, financial compensation without restoration may be unacceptable.

39 Supporters include the South African Department of Arts, Culture, Science & Technology, Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism, Department of Labor, Department of Public Works, Maputo Corridor Company, the German Agency for Technical Co-Operation (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit), and the Ford Foundation.

40 P Chardonnet et al. The Value of Wildlife, 21 Revue Scientifique et Technique de l'Office International des Epizooties 15 (2002).

41 Karin Mahony & Jurgens Van Zyl, Practical Strategies for Pro-Poor Tourism: Case Studies of Makuleke and Manyeleti Tourism Initiatives (Pro-Poor Tourism Working Paper No. 2, 2001).

42 Michael P. Wells, The Economic and Social Role of Protected Areas in the New South Africa (1996).

43 World Travel and Tourism Council, Travel and Tourism: A World of Opportunity. Executive Summary (2003).

44 Dilys Roe & Penny Urquhart, Pro-Poor Tourism: Harnessing the World'S Largest Industry for the World's Poor (2001).

45 World Tourism Organization. Compendium of Tourism Statistics (2002).

46 Anne Spenceley, Tourism, Local Livelihoods, and the Private Sector in South Africa: Case Studies on the Growing Role of the Private Sector in Natural Resources Management (Inst. of Dev. Stud., Sustainable Livelihoods in S. Africa: Research Paper No. 8, 2003).

47 South Africa Government Communications (GCIS), South Africa Yearbook 2003/2004 (2003).

48 Lucy Emerton, The Nature of Benefits and the Benefits of Nature: Why Wildlife Conservation Has Not Economically Benefited Communities in Africa, in African Wildlife and Livelihoods: The Promise and Performance of Community Conservation, 208 supra note 3.

49 The wide range reflects different assumptions about the relative importance of wildlife tourism. Wells, supra note 42.

50 Martha Honey, Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: Who Owns Paradise? (1999).

51 Spenceley, supranote 46, World Travel and Tourism Council, South Africa: The Impact of Travel & Tourism on Jobs and the Economy (2003).

52 South Africa, supra note 47.

53 Michael Clancy, Commodity Chains, Services and Development: Theory and Preliminary Evidence from the Tourism Industry, 5 Rev. of Int'l Pol. Econ. 122 (1998).

54 Ntlhaveni is fairly close to other parts of Kruger National Park and may host visitors to those areas.

55 These estimates are based on total lodge capacity of 200 guests, paying high prices, an 8% levy on turnover, and 50% occupancy. Each lodge would employ 30 full-time workers. Koch & De Beer, supra note 18; compare with George Oldham, Geert Creemers, & Taryn Rebeck, An Economic Evaluation of Tourism: A Case Study of Accommodation Facilities in Southern Maputaland, 17 Dev. S. Afr. 175 (2000).

56 Oldham, Creemers, and Rebeck estimate that mid-market nature lodges in KwaZulu/Natal invested R200 thousand per bed. The operating surplus was approximately R9 thousand per year. Id.

57 Spenceley, supranote 46. Although partners are expected to have a reasonable rate of return, for example, they have to finance fully any joint projects. They must agree to implement their ventures in a manner that “advances the community.” Ventures must also provide for the eventual transfer of lodges built on Makuleke land to the CPA.

58 Spenceley, supranote.

59 Press releases and news coverage provide too few details for a thorough assessment of this agreement. However, the Wilderness Safaris managing director stated that the Makuleke would receive a percentage of turnover, rather than a flat rental fee, community members would receive training and employment (up to 200 jobs), and some scholarships would be provided. 〈http://www.aboutravel.co.za/FRONTEND/A_SCRIPTS/article.asp?pklArticleID=2592&pklIssueID =322〉

60 Clancy, supra note 53.

61 Emerton, supra note 48.

62 James Murombedzi, Committees, Rights, Costs and Benefits: Natural Resource Stewardship and Community Benefits in Zimbabwe's Campfire Programme, in African Wildlife and Livelihoods: The Promise and Performance of Community Conservation, 244 supra note; Isaac Sindiga, Tourism Development in Kenya, in The Political Economy of Tourism Development in Africa, 129 (Peter U C Dieke, ed., 2000).

63 Matswani Wilderness Safaris proposed to implement a vocational training program so that Makuleke could serve as tour guides, hospitality staff, and managers. Additionally, several Makuleke youth are participating in a training program sponsored by the Endangered Wildlife Foundation. Training has included conservation management, tourism, business, safari guidance, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) wildlife monitoring. The program relies heavily on distance learning, with short intensive training sessions conducted in Ntlhaveni or Kruger Park. This program has been in progress for several years and is intended to lead to formal certification, but advancement has been slow and some students have dropped out.

64 Moore, Kosek & Pandian, supra note 5.

65 Moore, Kosek & Pandian, supra note 5; E. M. Bruner & B. Kirshenblattgimblett, Maasai on the Lawn—Tourist Realism in East-Africa, 9 Cultural Anthropology 435 (1994); A. Norton. Experiencing Nature: The Reproduction of Environmental Discourse through Safari Tourism in East Africa, 27 Geoforum 355 (1996).

66 Like “nature,” racial categories also are the product of social and historical processes. The interplay between race and nature in tourist sites deserves closer attention. For some points of departure, see Kevin C. Dunn. Fear of a Black Planet: Anarchy Anxieties and Postcolonial Travel to Africa, 25 Third World Quarterly 483–499 (2004); Moore, Kosek & Pandian, supra note 5.

67 Wells estimates that whites constituted 69 percent of domestic tourists in South Africa in 1992. The proportion of non-white South African tourists is expected to rise substantially. The majority of extra-regional tourists to Africa are from Europe. Regional tourism comprises a plurality of non-domestic tourists, but there are few good statistics on the characteristics of those tourists. Wells, supra note 42.

68 While most CBNRM communities are deeply embedded in extra-local relationships, CBNRM initiatives have been heavily shaped by states and nongovernmental organizations. Institutional ties with the private-sector actors that dominate tourism are likely to be weak.

69 In South Africa, the relationship to the land over which animals travel is crucial as the law does not permit ownership of wildlife.

70 Murombedzi, supra note 62.

71 Hannah Reid, Contractual National Parks and the Makuleke Community, 29 Human Ecology 135 (2001).

72 Michael Bratton & Nicolas Van De Walle, Democratic Experiments in Africa: Regime Transitions in Comparative Perspective (1997); Michael Bratton, Second Elections in Africa, 9 J. of Democracy 51 (1998); Christopher Fomunyoh, Democratization in Fits and Starts, 12 J. of Democracy 37 (2001); Nicolas Van De Walle, Elections without Democracy: Africa's Range of Regimes, 13 J. of Democracy 66 (2002). Countries with large nature tourism sectors—such as South Africa, Kenya, Namibia, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe—have a mixed record on democratization.

73 Nicolas Van De Walle, Presidentialism and Clientelism in Africa's Emerging Party Systems, 41 J. Mod. Afr. Stud. 297 (2003).

74 Jacklyn Cock & David Fig, From Colonial to Community-Based Conservation: Environmental Justice and the Transformation of National Parks (1994–1998), in Environmental Justice in South Africa 131 (David A. Mcdonald, ed., 2002); Stephen Turner & Shamim Meer, Conservation by the People in South Africa: Findings from Transform Monitoring and Evaluation, 1999 (Programme for Land & Agrarian Studies, U. of the W. Cape, Research Report No. 7, 2001).

75 Nicolas Van De Walle, African Economies and the Politics of Permanent Crisis, 1979–1999 (2001).

76 South Africa adopted neoliberal economic policies in 1996 with the adoption of the Growth, Employment, and Redistribution (GEAR) strategy. Some scholars see South Africa's path as somewhat divergent because state leaders arguably had greater choice about whether to adopt adjustment and liberalization policies. Adam Habib & Vishnu Padayachee, Economic Policy and Power Relations in South Africa's Transition to Democracy, 28 World Devt. 245 (2000); Tasha Fairfield, The Emergence of Neoliberalism in South Africa: Learning from a “Least Likely” Case (Unpublished M.A. thesis, University of California-Berkeley, 2002) (On file with author).

77 Mahoney & Van Zyl, supra note 41, Spenceley, supranote 46.

78 Tapela & Omara-Ojungu, supra note 28.

79 Emerton, supra note 48.