The Challenges of Transfrontier Conservation in Southern Africa
The Park Came After Us
By (author) Rachel DeMotts
Publication date:
25 August 2017Length of book:
204 pagesPublisher
Lexington BooksISBN-13: 9781498504638
Established in 2003, the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park encompasses land in Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Prioritizing wildlife over people, it paved the way for human rights abuses by park rangers, increased human–wildlife conflict, and the forced resettlement of up to 6,000 Mozambicans. Pushing wildlife conservation without consideration for its deeply problematic local consequences is at the heart of The Challenges of Transfrontier Conservation in Southern Africa: The Park Came After Us.
This is an important book for environmental historians working on conservation in post-colonial Africa and particularly southern Africa. It provides insights into topical issues affecting conservation of flora and fauna in southern Africa. The book provides a historical analysis on the exclusion of the local residents in line with the establishment game parks. It shows how elitism has been a factor in environmental conservation, and this has been explained through the use of the top down approach by the responsible authorities, in this case the Zimbabwean, Mozambican, and South African governments. . . . the book offers incredible insights of African environmental history.