Dissertation Research : "Incorporating Local Communities into the Governance of Southern African Peace Parks"

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Transboundary protected areas are parks that cross international borders, generally composed of two or more adjoining national parks. Over the past decade they have grown in popularity worldwide with near 200 now in existence. Their popularity stems from advocates promoting three key features: conservationists claim that their large size helps preserve biodiversity; economic advisors draw links between large parks, ecotourism, and economic development; and, other advocates make a functionalist argument that working towards common goals helps promote peace between nations. At the same time, however, transboundary parks create an interesting challenge to managers attempting to govern when jurisdictional boundaries do not match ecological boundaries, confronting transaction costs that national parks do not face. The challenge is how to build and strengthen institutions that effectively bridge the gaps created by political borders, minimize these transaction costs, and coordinate multi-level governance efforts. Using transboundary protected areas as a means to examine multi-level, cross-border governance, this study turns to southern Africa where the transboundary park movement is active. South Africa, alone, is creating six different transboundary parks, working with each of its neighbors on one or more projects. Two of these projects provide interesting cases for analysis -- the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park of South Africa and Botswana and the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park of South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe. Both parks share many traits -- large size, long national park histories, similar ecosystems, and equivalent international recognition. One difference, however, is that the Kgalagadi emerged from the efforts of local park officials coordinating efforts on both sides of the border, while the Great Limpopo arose from national ministries electing to establish an international park. Using policy responses to social, political, and ecological disturbances, this study will look at how national park responses and coordinated international efforts differ between the two transboundary parks. In the process, I hope to gain insight into how to create more effective institutions for multi-level governance across borders.