Visibility and Legitimacy in the Making of a Transfrontier Park

Rebecca C. WitterSeptember 30, 2004

University of Georgia

I. Background on the Limpopo National Park (LNP)

II. Visibility and legitimacy in park planning and implementation

III. Landscape approach to conservation

http://www.gkgpark.com/home/regional_setting_map.htm

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/flags/mz-flag.html

“It is clear from the satellite images that many

communities live on the alluvial soils of the

Limpopo floodplain. They must have been affected by the floods but seem to

have recovered and developed new fields…”

(Holden 2001: 11).

• According to Brechin et al. (2002: 46), “legitimacy refers to any behavior or set of circumstances that society defines as just, correct, or appropriate”.

Landscape approach to conservation

• “most attention should be paid to building a constituency of local support for conservation, by researching and then emphasizing ways in which human action has already, in some circumstances, served to enhance biodiversity, either by direct protection of valued resources or through triggering ecological processes that have advantageous outcomes.” (Guyer and Richards 1996: 7)