Land and resources in a transfrontier setting

Abstract

Amongst the many initiatives in legislative and policy change affecting land and common property resource management in Southern Africa today, transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs) seem particularly prominent because of their massive scale, huge political and donor support and the many (rural) livelihoods they are likely to affect. In general, TFCAs are large conservation and development areas across international borders that involve different land-use options such as biodiversity and cultural heritage conservation, range management and community-based natural resource management areas. These different land-use options also make for different legal and practical ownership arrangements in one TFCA, such as private, state-owned or common property management. This policy brief examines issues of legislative and policy change affecting land management and common property resource management brought forth by one specific TFCA: the Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Conservation and Development Area between Lesotho and South Africa.