Science and Politics in International Natural Resource Management: Case of the Chimanimani Transfrontier Conservation Area

摘要

Attempts to create transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs) in southern Africa lend themselves to multi-level analyses of the interaction of science and politics at the community, state, and international levels. Such analyses also reveal serious differences between the motivations and interests of international institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), states and communities, including the role and choice of science at various resource management levels. However, analyses based on systemic levels (international, state and local) may oversimplify the issues related to resource management. Additional understanding of the dynamics of resource use, access and control can be found in a knowledge-based discourse analysis. This type of analysisdeconstructs the various levels of analysis by examining the vertical and horizontal alliances that form among the levels, based on the choice of science. Using the case of the Chimanimani Transfrontier Conservation Area (CTFCA), which spans the Zimbabwe and Mozambique border, the author examined the how various types of science and knowledge are applied in establishing a large natural resource management area between these two states and the effects on the distribution of power among states, international institutions, NGOs and the local communities. At international, state and community levels, the research used multi-sited ethnography to examine, the role and use of various disciplines of science to further specific conservation management, economic, political and control agendas of all the stakeholders involved in this TFCA. It was found that alliances are formed that cut across existing systemic levels and form two broad competing groups based on the application of either biological science or social sciences (the latter embracing and defending traditional knowledge). These knowledge alliances are formed informally based on the context and shift under different circumstances. This research can assist in understanding the dynamics of natural resource project/program design and implementation by asking: What knowledge discourse is generating the concept for the project? Who will this appeal to? Who will comprise the two alliances that may be formed? Success may depend on which alliance is stronger or has more appeal.