Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T14:43:29.877Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The dual nature of parks: attitudes of neighbouring communities towards Kruger National Park, South Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2007

BRANDON ANTHONY*
Affiliation:
Environmental Sciences and Policy Department, Central European University, Nádor u. 9, Budapest 1051, Hungary
*
*Correspondence: Dr Brandon Anthony Tel: +36 1 327 3000, ext. 2007 Fax: +36 1 327 3031 e-mail: [email protected]

Summary

The attitudes of neighbouring communities towards protected areas are increasingly being considered in the establishment and management of national parks. In South Africa, more inclusive policies have been introduced which seek to involve neighbouring communities in policy formulation and management of Kruger National Park (KNP). This paper examines the attitudes of 38 communities towards KNP along its western border. A random survey of 240 households was conducted to assess attitudes towards the Park, and what factors might influence them. Attitudes were measured by responses to 12 related questions, which were transformed to construct an attitude index. Attitudes are more varied than previously reported. Notwithstanding KNP outreach programmes, many respondents had had no interaction with KNP, 72.9% had never been in the Park, and only 32.1% claimed they knew of KNP's activities. Having a household member employed by KNP, age and de jure Traditional Authority affiliation influenced more positive attitudes toward KNP. Negative attitudes were primarily linked with problems associated with damage-causing animals, including inadequate maintenance of the KNP border fence, poor animal control outside KNP and lack of compensation for affected farmers. These findings on relationships between KNP and its neighbours are relevant for many protected areas in similar contexts elsewhere.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aipanjiguly, S. & Jacobson, S. (2002) Conserving manatees: attitudes and intentions of boaters in Tampa Bay, Florida. Conservation Biology 17 (4): 10981105.Google Scholar
Alpert, P. (1996) Integrated conservation and development projects. BioScience 46: 845855.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, A.B., Basilevsky, A. & Hum, D.P.J. (1983) Measurement: theories and techniques. In: Handbook of Survey Research, ed. Rossi, P.H., Wright, J.D. & Anderson, A.B., pp. 231288. San Diego, CA, USA: Academic Press, Inc.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anthony, B.P. (2006) A view from the other side of the fence: Tsonga communities and the Kruger National Park, South Africa. Ph.D. thesis, Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary.Google Scholar
Attwell, C.A.M. & Cotterill, F.P.D. (2000) Postmodernism and African conservation science. Biodiversity and Conservation 9: 559577.Google Scholar
Barrett, C.B. & Arcese, P. (1995) Are Integrated Conservation-Development Projects (ICDPs) sustainable? On the conservation of large mammals in Sub-Saharan Africa. World Development 23 (7): 10731084.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrett, C.B. & Cason, J.W. (1997) Overseas Research: a Practical Guide. Baltimore, MD, USA: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Barrett, C.B., Lee, D.R. & McPeak, J.G. (2005) Institutional arrangements for rural poverty reduction and resource conservation. World Development 33 (2): 193197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bless, C. & Higson-Smith, C. (2000) Fundamentals of Social Research Methods: an African Perspective, 3rd edition. Cape Town, South Africa: Juta Education Ltd.Google Scholar
Bosch, O.J.H., Allen, W.J., Williams, J.M. & Ensor, A.H. (1996) An integrated approach for maximising local and scientific knowledge for land management decision-making in the New Zealand high country. The Rangeland Journal 18 (1): 2332.Google Scholar
Braack, L.E.O. (2000) Kruger National Park, 2nd edition. London, UK: New Holland Publishers.Google Scholar
Brandon, K. (1998) Perils to parks: the social context of threats. In: Parks in Peril: People, Politics, and Protected Areas, ed. Brandon, K., Redford, K.H. & Sanderson, S.E., pp. 415439. Washington, DC, USA: The Nature Conservancy, Island Press.Google Scholar
Brandon, K., Redford, K.H. & Sanderson, S., eds (1998) Parks in Peril: People, Politics and Protected Areas. Washington, DC, USA: Island Press.Google Scholar
Brechin, S.R., Wilshusen, P.R., Fortwangler, C.L. & West, P.C. (2002) Beyond the square wheel: toward a more comprehensive understanding of biodiversity conservation as social and political processes. Society and Natural Resources 15 (1): 4164.Google Scholar
Brockington, D. (2003) Injustice and conservation – is ‘local support’ necessary for sustainable protected areas? Policy Matters 12: 2230.Google Scholar
Budlender, D. (1997) The Debate about Household Headship. Pretoria, South Africa: Central Statistics Office, South Africa.Google Scholar
Byers, B. (1996) Understanding and Influencing Behaviors in Conservation and Natural Resources Management. African Biodiversity Series, No. 4. Washington, DC, USA: Biodiversity Support Program.Google Scholar
Callimanopulos, D. (1984) Relocating blacks in South Africa. Cultural Survival Quarterly 8 (1): [www document]. URL http://www.cs.org/publications/csq/csq-article.cfm?id=183Google Scholar
Campbell, B. & Shackleton, S. (2001) The organizational structures for community-based natural resource management in Southern Africa. African Studies Quarterly 5 (3): [www document]. URL http://web.africa.ufl.edu/asq/v5/v5i3a6.htmGoogle Scholar
Carruthers, J. (1995) The Kruger National Park: a Social and Political History. Pietermaritzburg, South Africa: University of Natal Press.Google Scholar
Cock, J. & Fig, D. (2000) From colonial to community based conservation: environmental justice and the national parks in South Africa. Society in Transition 31 (1): 2235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cronbach, L.J. (1951) Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika 16: 297334.Google Scholar
Els, H. (1995) Value and function of the Kruger National Park – value judgements of rest camp personnel. South African Journal of Ethnology 18 (1): 1221.Google Scholar
Emerton, L. (2001) The nature of benefits and the benefits of nature: why wildlife conservation has not economically benefited communities in Africa. In: African Wildlife and Livelihoods: the Promise and Performance of Community Conservation, ed. Hulme, D. & Murphree, M., pp. 208226. Cape Town, South Africa: David Philip Publ.Google Scholar
Fiallo, E.A. & Jacobson, S.K. (1995) Local communities and protected areas: attitudes of rural residents towards conservation and Machalilla National Park, Ecuador. Environmental Conservation 22 (3): 241249.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freitag-Ronaldson, S. & Foxcroft, L.C. (2003) Anthropogenic influences at the ecosystem level. In: The Kruger Experience: Ecology and Management of Savanna Heterogeneity, ed. du Toit, J.T., Rogers, K.H. & Biggs, H.C., pp. 391421. Washington, DC, USA: Island Press.Google Scholar
Hackel, J.D. (1999) Community conservation and the future of Africa's wildlife. Conservation Biology 13 (4): 726734.Google Scholar
Happold, D.C.D. (1995) The interaction between humans and mammals in Africa in relation to conservation: a review. Biodiversity and Conservation 4 (4): 395414.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heinen, J.T. (1996) Human behaviour, incentives and protected area management. Conservation Biology 10: 681684.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hill, C.M. (1998) Conflicting attitudes towards elephants around Budongo Forest Reserve, Uganda. Environmental Conservation 25 (3): 244250.Google Scholar
Holmes, C.M. (2003) The influence of protected area outreach on conservation attitudes and resource use patterns: a case study from western Tanzania. Oryx 37 (3): 305315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hughes, R. & Flintan, F. (2001) Integrating Conservation and Development Experience: a Review and Bibliography of the ICDP Literature. London, UK: International Institute for Environment and Development.Google Scholar
Hulme, D. & Murphree, M. (2001) Community conservation as policy: promise and performance. In: African Wildlife and Livelihoods: the Promise and Performance of Community Conservation, ed. Hulme, D. & Murphree, M., pp. 280297. Cape Town, South Africa: David Philip Publ.Google Scholar
Infield, M. (1988) Attitudes of a rural community towards conservation and a local conservation area in Natal, South Africa. Biological Conservation 45: 2146.Google Scholar
Khan, F. (1994) Rewriting South Africa conservation history – the role of the Native Farmers Association. Journal of Southern African Studies 20 (4): 499516.Google Scholar
Kiss, A., ed. (1990) Living with wildlife: wildlife resource management with local participation in Africa. World Bank Technical Paper 130, World Bank, Washington, DC, USA.Google Scholar
Kramer, R., van Schaik, C. & Johnson, J. (1997) Last Stand: Protected Areas and the Defense of Tropical Biodiversity. New York, USA: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Lahiff, E. (1997) Land, water and local governance in South Africa: a case study of the Mutale River Valley. Rural Resources Rural Livelihoods Working Paper Series, Paper No. 7, IDPM, Manchester, UK.Google Scholar
Lepp, A. & Holland, S. (2006) A comparison of attitudes toward state-led conservation and community-based conservation in the village of Bigodi, Uganda. Society and Natural Resources 19: 609623.Google Scholar
Mabunda, D. (2004) An integrated tourism management framework for the Kruger National Park, South Africa, 2003. Ph.D. thesis, Department of Tourism Management, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.Google Scholar
Mabunda, D., Pienaar, D.J. & Verhoef, J. (2003) The Kruger National Park: a century of management and research. In: The Kruger Experience: Ecology and Management of Savanna Heterogeneity, ed. du Toit, J.T., Rogers, K.H. & Biggs, H.C., pp. 321. Washington, DC, USA: Island Press.Google Scholar
MacKinnon, J., MacKinnon, K., Child, G. & Thorsell, J. (1986) Managing Protected Areas in the Tropics. Cambridge, UK: IUCN.Google Scholar
Magome, D.T. & Collinson, R.F.H. (1998) From Protest to Pride: a Case Study of Pilanesburg National Park, South Africa. World Bank/WBI's CBNRM Initiative [www document]. URL http://srdis.ciesin.org/cases/south_africa-003.htmlGoogle Scholar
Maharaj, B. (2005) Geography, human rights and development: reflections from South Africa. Geoforum 36: 133135.Google Scholar
Manfredo, M., Teel, T. & Bright, A.D. (2004) Application of the concepts of values and attitudes in human dimensions of natural resources research. In: Society and Natural Resources: A Summary of Knowledge, ed. Manfredo, M., Vaske, J., Bruyere, B., Field, D. & Brown, P., pp. 271282. Jefferson, MO, USA: Modern Litho.Google Scholar
Marcus, R.R. (2001) Seeing the forest for the trees: integrated conservation and development projects and local perceptions of conservation in Madagascar. Human Ecology 29 (4): 381397.Google Scholar
McGregor, J. (2005) Crocodile crimes: people versus wildlife and the politics of postcolonial conservation on Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe. Geoforum 36 (3): 353369.Google Scholar
McKenzie-Mohr, D., Nemiroff, L.S., Beers, L. & Desmarais, S. (1995) Determinants of responsible environmental behavior. Journal of Social Issues 51 (4):139156.Google Scholar
Moore, K. & van Damme, L.M. (2002) The evolution of people-and-parks relationships in South Africa's national conservation organisation. In: Environmental Education, Ethics and Action in Southern Africa, ed. Hattingh, J., Lotz-Sisitka, H. & O'Donoghue, R., pp. 6173. Cape Town, South Africa: Human Sciences Research Council and Environmental Education Association of Southern Africa.Google Scholar
Neumann, R.P. (1997) Primitive ideas: protected area buffer zones and the politics of land in Africa. Development and Change 28 (3): 559582.Google Scholar
Newmark, W.D. & Hough, J.L. (2000) Conserving wildlife in Africa: integrated conservation and development projects and beyond. BioScience 50 (7): 585592.Google Scholar
Newmark, W.D., Leonard, N.L., Sariko, H.I. & Gamassa, D.-G.M. (1993) Conservation attitudes of local people living adjacent to five protected areas in Tanzania. Biological Conservation 63: 177183.Google Scholar
Pimbert, M.P. & Pretty, J.N. (1997) Parks, people and professionals: putting ‘participation’ into protected area management. In: Social Change and Conservation: Environmental Politics and Impacts of National Parks and Protected Areas, ed. Ghimire, K.. & Pimbert, M., pp. 297330. Geneva, Switzerland: UNRISD.Google Scholar
Pollard, S., Shackleton, C.M. & Carruthers, J. (2003) Beyond the fence: people and the lowveld landscape. In: The Kruger Experience: Ecology and Management of Savanna Heterogeneity, ed. du Toit, J.T., Rogers, K.H. & Biggs, H.C., pp. 422446. Washington, DC, USA: Island Press.Google Scholar
Rihoy, E. (1995) The Commons without the Tragedy? Strategies for Community based Natural Resources Management in Southern Africa. Lilongwe, Malawi: Southern African Development Community, Wildlife Technical Coordination Unit.Google Scholar
SANP (2000) Visions of Change: Social Ecology and South African National Parks. Johannesburg, South Africa: Development Communications Co. in association with South African National Parks.Google Scholar
SANP (2006) Kruger National Park Management Plan (Version 1, 31 October 2006) [www document]. URL http://www.sanparks.org/conservation/park_man/kruger.pdfGoogle Scholar
Shackleton, S. (2004) Livelihood benefits from the local level commercialization of savanna resources: a case study of the new and expanding trade in marula (Sclerocarya birrea) beer in Bushbuckridge, South Africa. South African Journal of Science 100: 651657.Google Scholar
Spinage, C. (1998) Social change and conservation misrepresentation in Africa. Oryx 32 (4): 265276.Google Scholar
Statistics South Africa (2003) Census 2001 [www document]. URL http://www.statssa.gov.za/census01/html/default.aspGoogle Scholar
Studsrod, J.E. & Wegge, P. (1995) Park-people relationships: the case of damage caused by park animals around the Royal Bardia National Park, Nepal. Environmental Conservation 22 (2): 133142.Google Scholar
Sudman, S. (1983) Applied sampling. In: Handbook of Survey Research, ed. Rossi, P.H., Wright, J.D. & Anderson, A.B., pp. 145194. San Diego, CA, USA: Academic Press, Inc.Google Scholar
Tapela, B.N. & Omara-Ojungu, P.H. (1999) Towards bridging the gap between wildlife conservation and rural development in post-apartheid South Africa: the case of the Makuleke community and the Kruger National Park. South African Geographical Journal 81 (3): 148155.Google Scholar
Veech, J.A. (2003) Incorporating socioeconomic factors into the analysis of biodiversity hotspots. Applied Geography 23 (1): 7388.Google Scholar
Volkman, T.A. (1986) The hunter-gatherer myth in Southern Africa. Cultural Survival Quarterly 10 (2): [www document]. URL http://www.cs.org/publications/csq/csq-article.cfm?id=529Google Scholar
Wang, S.W., Lassoie, J.P. & Curtis, P.D. (2006) Farmer attitudes towards conservation in Jingme Singye Wangchuk National Park, Bhutan. Environmental Conservation 33 (2): 148156.Google Scholar
Weisberg, H.F., Krosnick, J.A. & Bowen, B.D. (1996) An Introduction to Survey Research, Polling, and Data Analysis, 3rd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Wells, M., Guggenheim, S., Khan, A., Wardojo, W. & Jepson, P. (1999) Investing in Biodiversity: a Review of Indonesia's Integrated Conservation and Development Projects. Washington, DC, USA: World Bank.Google Scholar
West, P.C. & Brechin, S.R., eds (1991) Resident Peoples and National Parks: Social Dilemmas and Strategies in International Conservation. Tucson, USA: University of Arizona Press.Google Scholar
West, P., Igoe, J. & Brockington, D. (2006) Parks and peoples: the social impact of protected areas. Annual Review of Anthropology 35: 251277.CrossRefGoogle Scholar