Conflict and sustainable development: the case of the great Limpompo Transfrontier Park (GLTP), Southern Africa

Conflict is inevitable but sustainable development is achievable. An analysis of the mix between development and conflict in two communities revealed the imperatives needed to strike a balance between conflict and sustainable development. While conflicts over natural resources are neither a new phenomenon nor are they inevitable, it is the approaches adopted to manage them that generate interests and makes a difference between peace and violence. Thus, conflicts associated with wilderness or TFCA development initiatives such as the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (GLTP) have attracted significant interest from various stakeholders. While the GLTP is a flagship conservation initiative in Southern Africa designed to integrate different land uses for socio-economic development, it is littered with conflicts. Through documenting the experiences of two communities involved in development conflicts, a determination was sought to understand the efficacy of approaches used to manage the conflict. Using mainly questionnaires and personal interviews, perceptions and attitudes of key informants were solicited. Unresolved historical problems reincarnated to haunt current conservation projects as memories of unresolved past events reflected negatively on new related initiatives. Different approaches adopted in managing these conflicts resulted in significantly different outcomes. Local stakeholder involvements were inadequate, but were identified as pertinent to successful sustainable conservation and development. Unless local communities are assured of real benefits from new conservation initiatives it became evident that recurrent conflicts would be inevitable. The findings reveal that current conservation initiatives should be underpinned by emerging inclusivity theories in the conservation discourse. A broad range of stakeholders should embrace this new paradigm based on the philosophy that conservation efforts that exclude local communities are bound to be unsustainable. We found out that it is in the interests of all for policy makers to come up with policies that recognise the critical role local communities play, while subscribing to the regional and international standards for best practices in the conservation business