From Conflict to Negotiation

The Rio Earth Summit of 1992 introduced several new approaches to environmental management under the general heading of sustainable devlopment. One of these approaches has forced conservationists to concede that it is no longer feasible or ethical to exlude resident communities from prtected areas, as had been the practice for more than a century. The alternative approach highlighting considerations of social justice and economic empowerment, is to recognise that humans are also part of the local ecology, and to find sustainable ways to maintain local livelihoods along with biodiversity.

Especially in the global South, resource-dependant communities associated with protected areas had long been sublected to removals or restrictions by the state, and had been forced to modify livelihoods historically dependant on abundant natural resources, usually resulting in their acute impoverishment.

Eastern and Southern Africa had been particulr sites of the former protectionist policies and their frequently tragic sequels for communities. Following the Summit much energy has been expended on finding sustainable alternatives to relocation in these regions, particularly new livelihoods linked to ecotourism

From Conflict to Negotiation provides a South African case study of the shift from protectionism to sustainable devlopment in the 1990's. Located on the wild coast of the Eastern Cape, Dwesa-Cwebe consists of a nature and marine reserve with eight adjacent resident communities that have historically depended on local forest, grassland and coastal resources. This are has been the focus of one of the earliest efforts in the 'new' South Africa to restore to the Xhosa-speaking residents ownership of the protected area from which they had been excluded for decades. Unusually the resident initiated the process.

While others celebrated the advent of the new democracy in South Africa in 1994, the residents of this remote area, whose grieviences had been ignored during the political transition, planned a protest strategy featuring co-ordinated invasions of the protected area. The protest action succeeded to the extent that it gained massive media attention and provoked the special attention of national and regional goverment, non-govermental organizations (NGOs) and academic researchers.

An early academic intervention designed to bring the residents and conservationists together was later expanded. Complementing the roles of goverment and NGOs, environmentalists and socio-cultural anthropologists, among others involved in this project, have attempted to address the conumdrum of sustainable development policy implementation in a complex setting.

From conflict to Negotiation details the findings of this pioneering research project. It is the story of local empowerment regained as confrontation yielded to negotiation and negotiation yielded co-management, local ownership and developmental partnerships. This landmark study will provoke ongoing discussion and research in an exciting new forum of community development.