This book examines the connections between natural resources, tourism and community livelihood practices in Southern Africa, highlighting the successes and constraints experienced over the last 50 years. Questioning how natural resources, tourism and community livelihoods relations can positively contribute towards development efforts, this book adopts an interdisciplinary approach to understand socio-ecological systems that characterize the dynamics for sustainable development. It explores the history of conservation and natural resource management in Southern Africa and traces the development and growth of nature-based tourism. Boasting a wide range of tourism landscapes, including national parks, wetlands, forests and oceans, the book draws on case studies from a variety of Southern African countries, including Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, and considers the political challenges for implementing policies and practices. Furthermore, it analyses broader issues such as the impact of climate change, human–wildlife co-existence and resulting conflicts, poor access to funding and poverty in local communities. The book argues that the links between conservation and livelihoods can be best understood by considering the different approaches to reconciling the demands of conservation and livelihoods that have evolved over the past decades. Containing contributions from natural and social sciences the book provides guidance for practitioners and policymakers to continue to shape policies and practices that are in line with the key tenets of sustainable development. It will also be of great interest to students and scholars researching Southern Africa, sustainable tourism and conservation.

This book examines the nexus between conservation, land conflicts, and sustainable tourism approaches in Southern Africa, with a focus on equity, access, restitution, and redistribution. While Southern Africa is home to important biodiversity, pristine woodlands, and grasslands, and is a habitat for important wildlife species, it is also a land of contestations over its natural resources with a complex historical legacy and a wide variety of competing and conflicting issues surrounding race, cultural and traditional practices, and neoliberalism. Drawing on insights from conservation, environmental, and tourism experts, this volume presents the nexus between land conflicts and conservation in the region. The chapters reveal the hegemony of humans on land and associated resources including wildlife and minerals. By using social science approaches, the book unites environmental, scientific, social, and political issues, as it is imperative we understand the holistic nature of land conflicts in nature-based tourism. Discussing the management theories and approaches to community-based tourism in communities where there are or were land conflicts is critical to understanding the current state and future of tourism in African rural spaces. This volume determines the extent to which land reform impacts community-based tourism in Africa to develop resilient destination strategies and shares solutions to existing land conflicts to promote conservation and nature-based tourism. The book will be of great interest to students, academics, development experts, and policymakers in the field of conservation, tourism geography, sociology, development studies, land use, and environmental management and African studies.

Provides a pan-African synthesis of community-based natural resource management (CBNRM), drawing on multiple authors and a wide range of documented experiences from Southern, Eastern, Western and Central Africa. This title discusses the degree to which CBNRM has met poverty alleviation, economic development and nature conservation objectives.

Protected Areas and tourism dynamics in southern Africa: An overview / MOREN T. STONE, LESEGO S. STONE, GOEMEONE E. J. MOGOMOTSI AND PATRICIA K. MOGOMOTSI -- Protected Areas and Tourism Development: A Historical Analysis of the Southern African Experience / BOGA MANATSHA AND BONGANI GLORIOUS GUMBO -- Community perceptions of protected areas and tourism amidst poverty: Experiences from Southern Africa / HERBERT NTULI AND EDWIN MUCHAPONDWA -- Ecotourism as a paradigm shift in conservation and community livelihoods in the Southern African region: Opportunities, challenges and lessons learnt / SAID JUMA SULUO AND WINEASTER ANDERSON -- Tolerance for Wildlife Resources through Community Wildlife-Based Tourism: Implications for Sustainability / CHIEDZA NGONIDZASHE MUTANGA -- Landscape governance in sub-Saharan Africa / RENE VAN DER DUIM AND ARJAAN PELLIS -- In the Way of Wildlife: Contestations between Indigenous Peoples' Livelihood and Conservation / ONTHATILE OLERILE MOETI -- The socio-economic impacts of wildlife crop-raiding: An assessment of the efficacy of conservation and agricultural land uses reconciliation / EMMANUEL MWAKIWA -- Protected areas and community-based tourism: the effectiveness of current mitigation techniques in human wildlife conflicts / PATRICIA KEFILWE MOGOMOTSI -- Lifting of the hunting ban and the elephant debate in Botswana: Implications for conservation and development in southern Africa / JOSEPH ELIZERI MBAIWA AND EMMANUEL MOGENDE -- The role of the media and the international community in recent conservation issues in southern Africa: The case of Cecil the lion / GARIKAI CHIMUKA -- Nature-based tourism resources and climate change in southern Africa: -- Implications for conservation and development sustainability / KAITANO DUBE -- International organisations and the ivory sales ban debate: The case of Zimbabwe,Namibia and Botswana / CAROLINE COX -- The COVID-19 Pandemic and nature-based tourism in southern Africa / SUSAN SNYMAN -- The adoption of community-based tourism in the proximity of Protected Areas: Implications for policy and practice./ OLIVER MTAPURI -- Militarization of conservation and "shoot to kill" policies: An analysis of policy instruments on the environment and conservation in southern Africa / GOEMEONE, E.J MOGOMOTSI AND PATRICIA KEFILWE MOGOMOTSI -- Implications of the "High-value, Low-Volume" approach in conservation and tourism resources management / LESEGO, SENYANA STONE AND MOREN TIBABO STONE -- Promotion of pro-poor tourism in southern Africa: conservation and development critical issues / OWEN GOHORI, PEET VAN DER MERWE AND ANDREA SAAYMAN -- Contrasting safari and bushmeat hunting in southern Africa: Conservation and development issues / JULIA LAURA VAN VELDEN -- A synthesis of protected areas and tourism contributions to conservation and community livelihoods goals in southern Africa: A conclusion / MOREN TIBABO STONE, LESEGO SENYANA STONE, PATRICIA KEFILWE MOGOMOTSI, GOEMEONE EJ MOGOMOTSI.

Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) is an approach that offers multiple related benefits: securing rural livelihoods; ensuring careful conservation and management of biodiversity and other resources; and empowering communities to manage these resources sustainably. Recently, however, the CBNRM concept has attracted criticism for failing in its promise of delivering significant local improvements and conserving biodiversity in some contexts. This book identifies the flaws in its application, which often have been swept under the carpet by those involved in the initiatives. The authors analyse them, and propose remedies for specific circumstances based on the lessons learned from CBNRM experience in southern Africa over more than a decade. The result is essential reading for all researchers, observers and practitioners who have focused on CBNRM in sustainable development programmes as a means to overcome poverty and conserve ecosystems in various parts of the globe. It is a vital tool in improving their methods and performance. In addition, academics, students and policy-makers in natural resource management, resource economics, resource governance and rural development will find it a very valuable and instructive resource.

This volume discusses the complex relationship between Protected Areas and tourism and their impact on community livelihoods in a range of countries in Southern Africa. Protected areas and tourism have an enduring and symbiotic relationship. While protected areas offer a desirable setting for tourism products, tourism provides revenue that can contribute to conservation efforts. This can bring benefits to local communities, but it can also have a negative impact, with the establishment of protected areas leading to the eviction of local communities from their original places of residence, while also preventing them from accessing the natural resources they once enjoyed. Taking a multi-disciplinary approach, this book addresses the opportunities and challenges faced by communities and other stakeholders as they endeavour to achieve their conservation goals and work towards improving community livelihoods. Case studies from Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe address key issues such as human–wildlife conflicts, ecotourism, wildlife-based tourism, landscape governance, wildlife crop-raiding and trophy hunting, including the high-profile case of Cecil the lion. Chapters highlight both the achievements and positive outcomes of protected areas, but also the challenges faced and their impact on how protected areas are viewed and also conservation priorities more generally. The volume gives these issues affecting protected areas, local communities, managers and international conservation efforts centre stage in order inform policy and improve practice going forward. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of conservation, natural resource management, tourism, sustainable development and African studies, as well as professionals and policymakers involved in conservation policy.