Peace parks in Southern Africa: bringers of an African Renaissance?

Abstract

The pursuit of an African Renaissance has become an important aspect of regional cooperation between South Africa and its neighbours. Transfrontier conservation areas, or ‘Peace Parks’ as they are popularly called, have been identified as key instruments to promote the African Renaissance dream, and are increasingly advocated and justified on this basis. By fostering joint conservation (and tourism) development in Southern Africa's marginalised border regions, Peace Parks are claimed to further international peace, regional cooperation and poverty reduction, and thus serve basic ideals of the African Renaissance. This article critically explores this assumption. Using the joint South African-Mozambican-Zimbabwean Great Limpopo Park as a case study, it argues that in reality the creation of Peace Parks hardly stimulates and possibly even undermines the realisation of the African Renaissance ideals of regional cooperation, emancipation, cultural reaffirmation, sustainable economic development and democratisation. So far, their achievement has been severely hindered by domination of national interests, insufficient community consultation, and sensitive border issues such as the illegal flows of goods and migrants between South Africa and neighbouring countries. Furthermore, exacerbation of inter-state differences induced by power imbalances in the region, and harmonisation of land use and legal systems across boundaries, are increasingly becoming sources of conflict and controversy. Some of these problems are so severe, we conclude, that they might eventually even undermine support for African Renaissance as a whole. Utmost care is thus required to optimally use the chances that Peace Parks do offer in furthering an African Renaissance.

African societies, nation-states, governance, human migration, xenophobia and cultural contestations: Editorial framing

“…This territorialisation of sovereignty has enabled conceptions and treatment of African immigrants on the continent as "out-groups" and enemies of nationstates (Adjai & Lazaridis, 2013;Lunstrum, 2013;Jolly & DiGiusto, 2014;Dallimer & 1 iv Strange, 2015). The preeminence of the Western economic philosophy in this "bordering, ordering and othering" of international relations governance is apparent in the ironic dominance of the interpretation of African Renaissance through the globalist modernist, rather than Africanist, perspectives (Moilanen & Arponen, 2011;van Amerom & Buscher, 2005;Martin, Rutagarama, Cascao, Gray & Chhotray, 2011;Dallimer & Strange, 2015). The understanding of sovereignty through state exercise of power over defined territory is universal, notwithstanding the reality of its complexity and inconsistency (Devine, 2014, Duffy, 2014Lunstrum, 2014;Dallimer & Strange, 2015;Massé & Lunstrum, 2015).…”

“…Thus, questions of the coexistence of ideals such as constitutional democracy, culture of human rights, multiculturalism and inclusivity with violent abuses and senseless killings of African immigrants in South Africa have to be raised. Importantly, South African political elite has championed the vision of African Renaissance, which should be founded on the ideals of pan-Africanism such as continental unity, reaffirmation of African cultures, emancipation, cooperation, sustainable economic development and democratisation (van Amerom & Buscher, 2005Muzeza, Schuttle & Snyman, 2013Barquet et al, 2014;Kark et al, 2015;Sibanda, 2015). Also, the recent hype about the Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs) or "Peace Parks" raised hopes of building peace and security in the continent, especially in Southern Africa (van Amerom & Buscher, 2005;Martin et al, 2011;Muzeza, Schuttle & Snyman, 2013;Barquet et al, 2014;Kark et al, 2015;Sibanda, 2015).…”

“…Importantly, South African political elite has championed the vision of African Renaissance, which should be founded on the ideals of pan-Africanism such as continental unity, reaffirmation of African cultures, emancipation, cooperation, sustainable economic development and democratisation (van Amerom & Buscher, 2005Muzeza, Schuttle & Snyman, 2013Barquet et al, 2014;Kark et al, 2015;Sibanda, 2015). Also, the recent hype about the Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs) or "Peace Parks" raised hopes of building peace and security in the continent, especially in Southern Africa (van Amerom & Buscher, 2005;Martin et al, 2011;Muzeza, Schuttle & Snyman, 2013;Barquet et al, 2014;Kark et al, 2015;Sibanda, 2015). In practice, though, the establishment of "Peace Parks" was based on the securitisation of wildlife conservation that enables Western economic philosophy of capital accumulation by dispossession of lands of the most vulnerable sections of the population whilst simultaneously characterising "others", specifically African immigrants, as dangerously armed poachers and enemies of the nation-state (van Amerom & Buscher, 2005;Martin et al, 2011;Massé & Lunstrum, 2015).…”

“…Also, the recent hype about the Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs) or "Peace Parks" raised hopes of building peace and security in the continent, especially in Southern Africa (van Amerom & Buscher, 2005;Martin et al, 2011;Muzeza, Schuttle & Snyman, 2013;Barquet et al, 2014;Kark et al, 2015;Sibanda, 2015). In practice, though, the establishment of "Peace Parks" was based on the securitisation of wildlife conservation that enables Western economic philosophy of capital accumulation by dispossession of lands of the most vulnerable sections of the population whilst simultaneously characterising "others", specifically African immigrants, as dangerously armed poachers and enemies of the nation-state (van Amerom & Buscher, 2005;Martin et al, 2011;Massé & Lunstrum, 2015). These narratives has meant that international migration in Southern Africa is met with local society hostilities, animosities, antagonisms and violent abuses in South Africa.…”

Heritage as Therapy

“…Thus we need to expand the category of 'heritage' beyond the confines of traditional understanding, to see heritage as a form of therapy, as the past laboring in the service of a better future, a progressive and productive benefit to all, but specifically for the disempowered, dislocated and disadvantaged. And yet the socio-economic hardships faced by non-white South Africans has hardly been ameliorated (Walker, 2006), moreover, evidence points to the fact that small scale ventures around heritage tourism and self-sustainability are tenuous at best (see Binns and Nel, 2002;Meskell, 2005Meskell, , 2006avan Amerom and Büscher, 2005). Trauma cultures may be doing the work of therapy, in a collective sense, but also in an inherently political one.…”