Understanding the Impact of Green Violence on Ndali Village, Zimbabwe

The rise in poaching of wildlife such as the rhino and elephant in the Greater Limpopo Transboundary Park (GLTP) has led state actors to implement strict security measures to eradicate the ‘problem of poachers.' A solution to that problem has been to adopt violent measures that coerce local communities around protected areas to conform to the regulations drafted by park authorities in the name of conservation. This research investigates the different forms of violence that are produced on communities around the Gonarezhou National Park which forms part of the GLTP. The research explored how conservation practices carried out by the Gonarezhou Conservation Trust impacts the lives of people around Ndali Village. The study uses the concept of green violence to highlight the violent nature of the conservation practices of protected areas. Secondly, the study uses political ecology approach to examine the relationship between villagers and the GNP in relation to the new arrangement of the management of the park and its impact on access to natural resource use. The results of the study were based on in-depth interviews carried out with a select group of participants and insights gained through informal conversations with villagers and participant observation. The findings of the study reveal that there is a sense of loss from most of the respondents particularly when it comes to the issue of accessing grazing resources and the redrawing of park boundaries that takes away parts of their communal land. The study also illustrates that in relation to accessing natural resources from the park, the villagers' use of wildlife for subsistence is not permitted and leads to prosecution when caught by park authorities. This has had a negative impact on the people of Ndali because subsistence hunting has been an important part of their lives. The restriction from hunting has seen members of the Ndali Village rely on agriculture and livestock rearing which is not improving their wellbeing because of the constant droughts in the area. The study presents evidence that while green violence may not result in direct physical violence, it takes different forms and poses risks for the people in Ndali Village who are dependent on GNP for subsistence and exposes them to indirect violence. This study contributes to debates on the impact of green violence on communities by presenting stories of how the violence manifests together with colonial dispossession