In the shadow of Kruger: Community conservation and environmental resource access in the former Kangwane Homeland, South Africa

The 1994 democratic elections ushered in a new era for South Africa typified by an overwhelming optimism for the new political and economic systems intended to redress the inequities of the colonial and apartheid periods. The country's history has been shaped by the use of space as a mechanism for controlling people and landscapes. This is best represented by the creation of the homelands, which the apartheid state believed were the ideal location for the majority of the African population. In the post-apartheid era, national and provincial conservation agencies have argued that community conservation remains a viable development model within these areas by incorporating disenfranchised populations into a set of processes to which they were previously excluded. This dissertation uses the Mahushe Shongwe Game Reserve as a case study to address livelihood production systems and the institutions of governance in the former KaNgwane homeland. Combining a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods in a livelihood mapping framework, this dissertation addresses how community conservation is impacting household assets and access to environmental resources within the Mzinti community. Additionally, it questions the institutions that govern environmental resource use to appreciate how historical and contemporary systems shape the ability of rural households to produce livelihoods in the post-apartheid era.; Households within the Mzinti community employ diverse livelihood strategies, ranging from complete dependence upon environmental resources to a full engagement with formal and informal economic activities. Additionally, other factors including population growth, in-migration and a shift away from traditional practices by younger community members are transforming dominant livelihood patterns within the community. The consequence is that residents view Mahushe Shongwe in complicated and complex ways, and subsequently attach multiple meanings to conservation planning. Younger community members are less likely to view Mahushe Shongwe as a constraint upon environmental resource access and believe the Reserve offers future development opportunities. These views contrast with older residents who are more likely to view Mahushe Shongwe as a constraint to the collection of wood and medicinal plants, and land for agriculture and livestock grazing. The variations in community views suggest that conservation does not have a unified impact, or a single meaning, to residents. Rather, the material and symbolic impacts of conservation remain tied to the history of particular places, livelihood production strategies across time and space, and local understandings about the role of different governance systems in the post-apartheid era.