“Your Elephant on Our Land”

Abstract

Landscape connectivity that allows for wildlife mobility requires governance across a tenurial mosaic of managerial units based on reconciliation of social, economic, and ecological objectives. The proposed Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA) Transfrontier Conservation Area (TFCA), which includes Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Zambia, features a spectacular display of mega fauna and a number of tourist attractions such as the Victoria Falls. However, Zambian communal area landholders, who are affected by the TFCA, presently lack sufficient incentives to accommodate the wildlife costs, especially those related to elephants. This article, which is based on long-term observation and recent field research (2005-2007), explores the dynamics of establishing wildlife corridors on Zambian communal land, through an improved communal-state-private sector partnership based on an experimental communal land reform process that addresses social and ecological issues. These issues are discussed using case studies of some chiefdoms on the Zambian side of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area. The paper recommends Zambian policy reform that might address the social, economic, and ecological challenges, with particular reference to elephants, and move the prevailing situation where ordinary rural residents are disempowered relative to the state, traditional leaders, and the private sector.