Benefits beyond boundaries : cross-border tourism collaboration in southern African transfrontier conservation areas

Abstract

"In a world beset by conflict and division, peace is one of the cornerstones of the future. Peace parks are building blocks in this process, not only in our region, but potentially in the entire world." These words of the l ate- former President Nelson Mandela of South Africa on the concept of Peace Parks, underl ines their importance beyond the na tural into the human domain . This disser ta tion focusses on an understanding o f Peace Parks or Transfrontier Conservat ion Areas (TFCAs) in the context of southern Africa and shows how c ol laboration can be used as a tool for the development o f these a re as . T h e t hr ee m ai n a im s of “TFC As ” are t o co nse rv e bio lo gic al d iversity, crea te a plat form for pover ty allevia tion and most importantl y, to promote a culture of peace amongst all nati ons i nvol ved in their development. In order to address this concept, the Great Limpopo Transfront ier Conservation Area (GLTFCA) i s used as an example of how South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe are col laborating their ef for ts towards common goals in terms of biological conserva tion and pover ty alleviation as wel l tou rism and economic development . I n sum, this dissert ation ana lyses col laboration and cooperation in depth as a tool f or t our ism development wi thin the context of t ransfrontier conservation areas in sout hern Africa.