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ARE PEACE PARKS EFFECTIVE PEACEBUILDING TOOLS? EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF GREAT LIMPOPO TRANSFRONTIER PARK AS A REGIONAL STABILIZING AGENT By Julie E. Darnell Submitted to the Faculty of the School oflntemational Service of American University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts m Ethics, Peace, and Global Affuirs Chair: ~~~Christos K yrou 1 lw') w Louis Goodman, Dean I tacfi~ \ Date 2008 American University Washington, D.C. 20016 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY UMI Number: 1458244 Copyright 2008 by Darnell, Julie E. All rights reserved. INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ® UMI UM I M icroform 1458244 Copyright 2008 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 E. Eisenhower Parkway PO Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ©COPYRIGHT by Julie E. Darnell 2008 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ARE PEACE PARKS EFFECTIVE PEACEBUILDING TOOLS? EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF THE GREAT LIMPOPO TRANSFRONTIER PARK AS A REGIONAL STABILIZING AGENT BY Julie E. Darnell ABSTRACT In recent decades peace parks and transboundary parks in historically unstable regions have become popular solutions to addressing development, conservation and security goals. While the absence of overt militarized conflict is necessary for a peace park to be established, little research has been done as to whether the parks increase the stability in the area; improve the lives of proximal indigenous people; and help countries meet development goals. This project evaluates if the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park has increased the stability of Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe and reduced the potential for future internal conflict. 11 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project would not have been possible with the input and guidance of so many people. First, thank you to my committee members, Professors Julie Mertus and Christos ·Kyrou. Your input during the inception of the project and continued support throughout the thesis were instrumental to its successful completion. Thanks also to Professor John King for your guidance on the questionnaire, your willingness to provide feedback was greatly appreciated; to Professor Lucinda Peach for your responsiveness and words of encouragement; and to Jeff Epstein for generously agreeing to review the ethics portion of this paper and providing such helpful feedback. I am extremely grateful to the School of International Service for awarding me a research travel grant, enabling me to attend the 2008 Environment Interdisciplinary Association Conference. I presented the ethics portion of my thesis at this conference and found the experience extremely insightful and a rewarding capstone for the thesis in general, which greatly contributed to my experience as a graduate student and student researcher. Finally, a special thanks to my family, whose support during this process was a constant source of motivation. In particular, I am deeply grateful for the unwavering support and encouragement of my lovely husband, Randy Ramsey. lll TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT......................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................... v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ............................................. vi Chapter 1. THE GREAT LIMPOPO TRANSFRONTIERPARK ............................. 1 2. WHAT IS A PEACE PARK? ............................................................................. 5 3. INTRODUCTION TO KEY PEACE PARKS AND ENVIRONMENTAL PEACEMAKING CONCEPTS ..................... 24 4. HISTORY OF THE PARK ........................................................... 31 5. RESEARCH DESIGN .................................................................. 53 6. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS ...................................................... 59 7. PEACEBUILDING ANALYSES ...................................................... 91 8. DEVELOPMENT ANALYSES ..................................................... 103 9. CONCLUSION ........................................................................ 114 Appendix A. MAP OF PARK ..................................................................... 119 B. TIMELINE ........................................................................... 120 C. DIAGRAM OF PARK MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE ....................... 123 D. MDG SEVEN ......................................................................... 124 E. WDI. ................................................................................... 126 F. QUESTIONNAIRE .................................................................. 128 WORKS CITED .................................................................................. 132 lV LIST OF TABLES Table I. CONFLICT TRAP EVALUATION ................................................................... .104 2. GDP GROWTH RATE .................................................................................. .106 3. GDP PER CAPITA INCOME ........................................................................... 106 4. PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION LIVING ON LESS THAN $1 A DAY ..................... 108 5. PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION LIVING ON LESS THAN $2 A DAY ..................... 108 6. PERCENTAGE OF ADULT POPULATION INFECTED WITH HIV ........................... 108 7 CORRUPTION PERCEPTION INDEX DATA ...................................................... .111 8. INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION'S RESOURCE ALLOCATION INDEX (IRAI) & COUNTRY POLICY AND INSTITUTIONAL ASSESSMENT (CPIA) ......................................... .111 9. GLOBAL INTEGRITY INDEX ........................................................................ .112 10. SELECTED WDI INDICATORS FOR MOZAMBIQUE, SOUTH AFRICA, ZIMBABWE (1998) .............................................................. 126 11. SELECTED WDI INDI CA TO RS FOR MOZAMBIQUE, SOUTH AFRICA, AND ZIMBABWE (2005) ...................................................................................... 127 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS A WF African Wildlife Foundation CAMPFIRE Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources CBNRM Community Based Natural Resources Management FRELIMO Mozambique Liberation Front (Frente de Libertacao de Mocambique) GEF Global Environmental Facility GLTCA Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area GL TP Great Limpopo Tranfrontier Park GNP Gonarezhou National Park IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature (often referred to as the World Conservation Union) KfW German Bank for Development KNP Kruger National Park LNP Limpopo National Park NEPAD New Partnership for Africa's Development NGO Non-governmental Organization PPF Peace Parks Foundation RRP Refugee Research Programme RENAMO Mozambican National Resistance (Resisencia Nacional Mocambicana) SADC Southern Africa Development Community VI SANParks South African National Parks TBCA Transboundary Conservation Area TBPA Transboundary Protected Area TFCA Transfrontier Conservation Area TFPA Transfrontier Protected Area US AID United States Agency for International Development UN United Nations UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNEP United Nations Environment Programme WB World Bank WWF World Wide Fund for Nature Vll CHAPTER 1 THE GREAT LIMPOPO TRANSFRONTIER PARK The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park in Southern Africa is an unprecedented development endeavor reversing the trend of depleting the natural resources of a developing country. Choosing to foster conservation, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe are attempting to also meet economic development goals via ecotourism with the creation of this large transboundary park. Furthermore the park, as a "peace park," has the potential to serve as a stabilizing agent for both the region and the individual states that comprise the park. However, development efforts, particularly when they are fast-tracked out of desperate need for economic change, are often inadvertently instituted at a cost to the local people. With the promise of attracting tourists and jobs, this peace park has the potential to greatly benefit local communities, or, if mismanaged, be an irritant that further deteriorates the region. Historically, development has been driven by very realist motives. States deemed strategic to world powers often receive more aid than others. Powerful states have made a habit of exploiting the resources of poorer states via conquering, colonialism, extracting natural resources, and exploiting less expensive labor. Dangerous waste and environmentally hazardous industries, outlawed in developed nations, are shipped to poor nations eager for income at any cost; and increasingly, low wage positions in industrialized nations are being outsourced to nations with less expensive labor and lax 1 2 labor laws and environmental regulations. However, in recent years states have been forced to cooperate with each other as the world population