Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

People and Parks: On the Relationship Between Community Development and Nature Conservation Amid Climate Change in South-Eastern Zimbabwe

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Climate Change-Resilient Agriculture and Agroforestry

Part of the book series: Climate Change Management ((CCM))

Abstract

Wildlife conservation is a topic that has captured public imagination in both developed and developing nations. This is evident by the creation and establishment of protected areas such as national parks and trans-boundary protected areas. In addition to their fundamental role of protecting natural resources, protected areas largely have the vital task of supporting tourism and socio-economic development of local communities. However, with the establishment of protected areas, the concept of communities’ dependence on natural resources has been ignored and protection of biodiversity taken precedence. Consequently, the prioritization of conservation over livelihoods has led to the widespread notion that conservation is a threat to development. Conservationists, on the other hand, assert that the onslaught of development is dependent on the same resources it threatens. This study evaluates the relationship between community development and nature conservation efforts among the Chitsa community and Gonarezhou National Park (GNP) in South-Eastern Zimbabwe amid climate change. In order to achieve the aim of the study, critical ethnography was employed, and utilized semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and life histories as data collection methods. Findings of the study reveal that nature conservation and community development have long represented contrasts in both research and practice. Of significance are imbalances that favour analyses and prioritization of nature conservation over community development outcomes supported by natural resources in resource dependent communities. It appears that nature conservation focuses on the strict protection of natural resources and ignores aspects of social and political processes involved in it hence it limits the people’s ability too adapt to climate change.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 149.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. 1.

    Chitsa, J. Ndali Business Community (Life History, 10 December 2012).

  2. 2.

    Chitsa, J., Kuruveli, J. & Musainge, R. Chitsa Community (Life Histories, 29 January 2013).

  3. 3.

    Redrawing of reserve boundaries was accompanied with redrawing of chieftaincies and people were scattered. Those who resisted where either abolished or demoted. Chief Chitsa acknowledged that he was demoted because he resisted the inclusion of his land into park (Mombeshora and Le Bel 2009).

  4. 4.

    Chitsa, J. Ndali Business Community (Life History, 10 December 2012).

  5. 5.

    This fence is the one Chief Chitsa acknowledges as the official boundary to this day.

  6. 6.

    Chitsa, J. Ndali Business Community (Life History, 10 December 2012).

  7. 7.

    Chitsa, J. Ndali Business Community (Life History, 10 December 2012).

  8. 8.

    Keeps are protected villages where ordinary citizens were put in during the liberation war struggle in Zimbabwe. Villagers were forcibly removed from their homes to these protected areas which in actual sense were nothing more than concentration camps in inhumane conditions. They were approximately 100 acres and surrounded by a high chain- link fence with barbed wire at the top (Zimbabwe Bulletin 1977).

  9. 9.

    Chitsa, J. Ndali Business Community (Life History, 10 December 2012).

  10. 10.

    Chadenga, R. Harare (Interview, 10 December 2012).

  11. 11.

    Chadenga, R., Sibanda, T. & Mapfumo Harare (Personal communication, 7 February 2013).

  12. 12.

    Chitsa, J. Ndali Business Community (Life History, 10 December 2012).

  13. 13.

    Chitsa, J. Ndali Business Community (Life History, 10 December 2012).

  14. 14.

    Chitsa, J. & Kuruveli, J. Chitsa community (Personal communication, 26 May 2013).

  15. 15.

    The Save Valley Conservancy is situated in the South eastern Lowveld of Zimbabwe. It is one of the largest conservancies in the world and covers approximately 845,044 acres (342,123 km2). Historically, this area was predominantly used for cattle ranching. A massive drought served as a catalyst to change overall land use from cattle ranching to conservation in 1991 (Wolmer 2003: 3).

  16. 16.

    Chitsa, J. Ndali Business Community (Life History, 10 December 2012).

  17. 17.

    Hahlani, C., Kunene, J., Kunene, F., Masivamele, F. & Musainge, R. Ndali Business Centre (FGD, 6 May 2013).

  18. 18.

    Phikilele, Y. Village 1, (Personal communication, 17 February January 2013).

  19. 19.

    Chitsa, J. Chitsa community (Personal communication, 20 January 2013).

  20. 20.

    Chadenga, R. Jongoni, S. & Ncube D Harare (Personal communication, 27 January 2013).

  21. 21.

    Local Government Representative, Masvingo (Personal communication, 10 May 2013).

  22. 22.

    Chadenga, R. Harare (Interview, 10 December 2012).

  23. 23.

    Chadenga, R., Sibanda, T. & Mapfumo Harare (Personal communication, 7 February 2013).

  24. 24.

    Chadenga, R. Harare (Personal Communication, 7 February 2013).

  25. 25.

    Sibanda, T. Harare (Personal communication, 8 March 2013).

  26. 26.

    Mutumbi, A., Hove, C., Kubvakacha, P. & Muzari, T. Harare (Personal communication, 8 March 2013).

  27. 27.

    Chitsa, J., Phikelele, H., Kuruveli, J., Hahlani, C., Kunene, J., Kunene, F., Masivamele, K. & Musainge, R. Chitsa community (Personal communication, February 2013).

References

  • Adams W, Aveling R, Brockington D, Dickson B, Elliot J, Hutton J, Roe D, Vira B, Wolmer W (2004) Biodiversity conservation and the eradication of poverty. Science 306(5699):1146–1149

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Asher A, Miller S (2011) So you want to do anthropology in your library? Or a practical guide to ethnographic research in academic libraries. ERIAL Project

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernard HR (2006) Research methods in anthropology: qualitative and quantitative approaches (4th edn). AltaMira Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boonzaaier CC, Wilson GDH (2011) Institutionalisation of community involvement: the case of Masebe Nature Reserve, South Africa. In: Van der Duim R, Meyer D, Saarinen J, Zellmer K (eds) New alliances for tourism, conservation and development in eastern and Southern Africa. Delft, Eburon

    Google Scholar 

  • Brandon K (2002) Putting the right parks in the right places. In: van Terborgh J, Schaik C, Davenport L, Rao M (eds) Making parks work: strategies for preserving tropical nature. Island Press, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Burnham P (2000) Native American country, god’s country: native Americans and the national parks. Island Press, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Colchester M (2004) Conservation policy and indigenous peoples. Environ Sci Policy 7(2):145–153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coria J, Calfucura E (2012) Ecotourism and the development of indigenous communities: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Ecol Econ 73:47–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cotula L (ed) (2007) Changes in “customary” land tenure systems in Africa. International Institute for Environment and Development, Stevenage, Hertfordshire: SMI (Distribution Services) Ltd

    Google Scholar 

  • DeGeorges PA, Reilly BK (2008) A critical evaluation of conservation and development in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Edwin Mellen Press, Lewiston, New York, NY, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • De Vos AS (ed) (2011) Research at grassroots: a primer for the caring professions. Pretoria, Van Schaik publishers

    Google Scholar 

  • Diam MS, Bakri AF, Kamarudin H, Zakaria SA (2012) Being a neighbor to a national park: are we ready for community participation. Prod Soc Behavioral Sci (36):211–220

    Google Scholar 

  • Dowie M (2009) Conservation refugees: the hundred-year conflict between global conservation and native peoples. Cambridge: MIT Press

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Duffy R (2000) Killing for conservation. The politics of wildlife in Zimbabwe. Oxford, James Currey

    Google Scholar 

  • Dzingirai V (2004) Disenfranchisement at large: transfrontier zones, conservation, and local livelihoods. IUCN Regional Office for Southern Africa, Harare

    Google Scholar 

  • Frost PGI, Bond I (2008) The CAMPFIRE programme in Zimbabwe: payments for wildlife services. Ecol Econ 65(4):776–787

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gandiwa P, Matsvayi W, Ngwenya MM, Gandiwa E (2011) Assessment of livestock and human settlement encroachment into the Northern Gonarezhou National Park. Zimb J Sustain Dev Afr 13(5):19–33

    Google Scholar 

  • Lan D (1985) Guns and rain: Guerrillas and spirit mediums in Zimbabwe. James Currey, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Logan BI, Moseley WG (2002) The political ecology of poverty alleviation in Zimbabwe’s Communal Areas Management Program For Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE). Geo-forum 33:1–14

    Google Scholar 

  • Madison DS (2012) Critical ethnography: methods, ethics and performance. London, SAGE Publications

    Google Scholar 

  • Manias E, Street A (2001) Nurse–doctor interactions during critical care ward rounds. J Clin Nurs 10:442–450

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Miller TR, Minteer BA, Malan LC (2011) The new conservation debate: the view from practical ethics. Biol Cons 144:943–951

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mombeshora S, Le Bel S (2009) Parks-people conflicts: the case of Gonarezhou National Park and the Chitsa Community in South-East Zimbabwe. Biodivers Conserv 18:2601–2623

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mugadza F, Mandizadza S (2006) The historical and social background to the chitsa community and Gonarezhou National Park Land Dispute. Consultant Report submitted to the Chitsa Dispute Taskforce

    Google Scholar 

  • Murombedzi J (2003) Devolving the expropriation of nature: the devolution of wildlife management in Southern Africa. In: Adams WM, Mulligan M (eds) Decolonizing nature: strategies for conservation in a post-colonial era. Earthscan, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson F (2008) Livelihoods: conservation and community based tourism in Tanzania: potential and performance. In: Spenceley A (ed) Responsible tourism: critical issues for conservation and development. Earthscan Publishers, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Neumann R (1997) Primitive ideas: protected areas buffer zones and the politics of land in Africa. Dev Change 28:559–582

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Orlove B, Brush S (1996) Anthropology and the conservation of biodiversity. Annu Rev Anthropol 25:329–352

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pikirayi I (2011) Tradition, archaeological heritage protection and communities in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. OSSREA, Adis Ababa

    Google Scholar 

  • Romero C, Athayde S, Collomb JD, Di-Giano M, Schmink M, Schamski S, Seales L (2012) Conservation and development in Latin America and Southern Africa: setting the stage. Ecol Soc 17(2):1–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanderson S, Redford KH (2003) Contested relationships between biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation. Oryx 37:389–390

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwartzman S, Moreira A, Nepstad D (2000) Rethinking tropical forest conservation: perils in parks. Conserv Biol 14:1351–1357

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scoones I, Chaumba J, Mavedzenge B, Wolmer W (2012) The new politics of Zimbabwe’s Lowveld: struggles over land at the margins. Afr Aff 00(00):1–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Tarutira MT (1988) A review of tsetse and trypanosomiasis in Southern Rhodesia: economic significance up to 1955. M. A. Thesis, Department of History, University of Zimbabwe

    Google Scholar 

  • Tavuyanago B, Makwara EC (2011) Contested landscape: the struggle for the control of Gonarezhou since the inception of colonial rule in Zimbabwe. J Sustain Dev Afr 13(7):46

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas J (1993) Doing critical ethnography. London, Sage Publications

    Google Scholar 

  • Twyman C (2001) Natural resource use and livelihoods in Botswana’s wildlife management areas. Appl Geogr 21(1):45–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van der Duim R (2011) New institutional arrangements for tourism, conservation and development in Sub-Saharan Africa. In: Van der Duim R, Meyer D, Saarinen J, Zellmer K (eds) New alliances for tourism, conservation and development in eastern and southern Africa. Eburon Academic Publishers, Delft

    Google Scholar 

  • Wasserman I, Kriel JD (1997) Facts and fallacies. Perspectives on community development. Wasserman & Kriel, Pretoria

    Google Scholar 

  • West P, Brockington D (2006) An anthropological perspective on some unexpected consequences of protected areas. Conserv Biol 20(3):609–616

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolmer W (2003) Transboundary conservation: the politics of ecological integrity in the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park. J South Afr Stud 29(10):261–278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolmer W (2007) From wilderness vision to farm invasions; conservation and development in Zimbabwe”S Southeast Lowveld. Weaver Press, Harare

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

    Wedzerai Chiedza Mandudzo

Authors
  1. Wedzerai Chiedza Mandudzo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wedzerai Chiedza Mandudzo .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. CFE - Centre for Functional Ecology - Science for People & the Planet, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Paula Castro

  2. Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Anabela Marisa Azul

  3. Faculty of Life Sciences, HAW Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  4. Department of Biology and CESAM, Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal

    Ulisses M. Azeiteiro

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Mandudzo, W.C. (2019). People and Parks: On the Relationship Between Community Development and Nature Conservation Amid Climate Change in South-Eastern Zimbabwe. In: Castro, P., Azul, A., Leal Filho, W., Azeiteiro, U. (eds) Climate Change-Resilient Agriculture and Agroforestry. Climate Change Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75004-0_27

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation