FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING Exploring the Impact of Land Reforms on Community-based Ecotourism Initiatives. A Case Study of Masera Community in Beitbridge District, Zimbabwe. Mtulisi Moyo Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Town and Regional Planning Johannesburg 2013 i DECLARATION I, Mtulisi Moyo, do hereby declare that the work contained in this dissertation is entirely my own work, submitted for the Degree of Master of Science in Town and Regional Planning in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. This dissertation has not been previously submitted for a degree at this or any other university and all reference material contained therein has been duly acknowledged. Signature.................................. Date ......................................... ii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ......................................................................................................................................... ii TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................................................. iii LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................................... viii LIST OF PICTURES ................................................................................................................................... ix ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................ x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................................... xii ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ....................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT ...................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 PURPOSE STATEMENT ...................................................................................................................... 4 1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ............................................................................................................... 4 1.5 KEY RESEARCH AIMS AND QUESTIONS ............................................................................................. 5 1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ........................................................................................................... 6 CHAPTER TWO: ASSESSMENT OF LAND REFORM AND DISTRIBUTION IN ZIMBABWE 2.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 7 2.2 LAND REFORM AND RURAL LIVELIHOODS ........................................................................................ 7 2.3 LAND REFORM IN CONTEXT .............................................................................................................. 8 2.4 TYPES OF LAND REFORM .................................................................................................................. 9 2.4.1 Tenure reform ............................................................................................................................ 9 2.4.2 Restitution .................................................................................................................................. 9 2.4.3 Redistribution .......................................................................................................................... 10 2.5 LAND REFORM IN ZIMBABWE: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ................................................... 10 2.6 THE FAST TRACK LAND REFORM PROGRAMME ............................................................................. 13 2.6.1 Land reform in Matabeleland South Province ......................................................................... 17 2.6.2 Impacts of the Fast Track Land Reform Programme ............................................................... 19 2.6.2.1 Economic impacts ............................................................................................................. 19 2.6.2.2 Social impacts ................................................................................................................... 19 2.6.3.3 Environmental impacts ..................................................................................................... 20 2.7 LAND REFORM AND SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS ........................................................................... 21 iii 2.8 TOOLS FOR PROPER LAND USE PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT ................................................... 24 2.8.1 Environmental land inventory ................................................................................................. 26 2.8.2 Land suitability analysis ........................................................................................................... 26 2.8.3 Human carrying capacity ......................................................................................................... 27 CHAPTER THREE: ECOTOURISM AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT DEBATE 3.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 28 3.2 EVOLUTION OF THE ECOTOURISM CONCEPT ................................................................................. 28 3.3 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT DEBATE ........................................................................................... 30 3.4 ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF TOURISM ................................................................................................ 33 3.4.1 Nature tourism ......................................................................................................................... 33 3.4.2 Cultural tourism ....................................................................................................................... 33 3.4.3 Wildlife tourism ....................................................................................................................... 34 3.5 ECOTOURISM/COMMUNITY BASED ECOTOURISM ........................................................................ 34 3.5.1 Potential Benefits of ecotourism development ....................................................................... 36 3.5.2 Potential problems of ecotourism development ..................................................................... 37 3.5.2.1 Environmental problems ................................................................................................... 37 3.5.2.2 Economic problems ........................................................................................................... 38 3.5.2.3 Social problems ................................................................................................................. 39 3.6 COMMUNITY BASED ECOTOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN ZIMBABWE ............................................... 40 3.6.1 The CAMPFIRE concept ............................................................................................................ 41 3.6.2.1 Role of the community under campfire ............................................................................. 45 3.6.2.2 Problems associated with community based ecotourism development in Zimbabwe (CAMPFIRE) ................................................................................................................................... 45 3.7 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................... 47 CHAPTER FOUR: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS 4.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 48 4.2 RESEARCH DESIGN .......................................................................................................................... 48 4.3 RESEARCH METHODS ...................................................................................................................... 49 4.3.1 Case study approach ................................................................................................................ 49 4.3.2 Sampling ................................................................................................................................... 50 4.4 DATA COLLECTION METHODS ......................................................................................................... 50 4.4.1 Semi-structured interviews ...................................................................................................... 51 4.4.2 Key informant interviews ......................................................................................................... 52 iv 4.4.3 Focus group discussions ........................................................................................................... 53 4.4.3 Observation .............................................................................................................................