Facilitating stakeholder engagement in protected area environmental management planning : a Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park case study

Abstract

Meaningful stakeholder engagement in an Integrated Environmental Management Plan (IEMP) process is a major challenge facing most protected areas (PAs) today. IEMPs are viewed globally as effective tools practiced in PAs to build and maintain relationships between stakeholders and the management of PAs. In the African context, IEMPs are viewed as the means of engaging neighbouring communities in the governance and management of PAs, particularly those communities who were dispossessed of their land in favour of conservation. The IEMP process is, therefore, an attempt at legitimising PAs in the post-colonial, post- apartheid context. However, although the perspectives of neighbouring communities on PA management and engagement with stakeholders are well documented, the attitude of conservation authorities has not received adequate scholarly attention. It is therefore not well documented how PA managers view the IEMP process and to what extent are they genuinely supportive of it. The attitude of PA managers to IEMP is crucial since they are the ones who are ultimately charged with the responsibility of overseeing and implementing it. The main aim of this study was therefore, to bridge this gap by examining the perspectives of protected area managers on the facilitation of IEMP process. Using a qualitative case study approach, the study looked at a particular case, the Hluhluwe- iMfolozi Park (HiP), which is one of the oldest big-five game reserves in Africa. The Hluhluwe- iMfolozi Park is in the northern part of KwaZulu-Natal, a province of South Africa. The park is surrounded by ten (10) traditional communities. Most of these communities are victims of colonial-apartheid era land dispossession policies. Together with other stakeholders, these communities are thus represented or must be represented in the IEMP processes of the Park. The data for this study were collected using in-depth semi-structured interviews. Participants included the park management team as well as the environmental planning team of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (EKZNW) which is the managing authority for the park. Interviews were also held with various other stakeholders of the park that had a history of involvement with the IEMP process in the park such as local community leaders, tourism organisations and local governance structures. The study found that stakeholder engagement and meaningful participation has not been achieved in the park. The IEMP process at HiP provides a limited opportunity for an open, transparent, and inclusive engagement. Right from the start, the facilitation of the process ensures that “undesirable” persons and issues are excluded and therefore never addressed. The findings of the study also confirmed the now long-held view that there is often a resource and information asymmetry between local communities and PA management to the disadvantage of the communities. However, at HiP this was not only limited to communities, but it was also discovered that there was asymmetry between senior management and lower- level officers who deal directly with local communities and issues. These officers have limited understanding of the IEMP process and were also excluded from certain stages of the IEMP process. The study also found that the IEMP process is not adequately resourced to the detriment of a proper facilitation which should involve appropriate training of staff members, community representatives and other stakeholders. It seems that management’s approach to IEMP is a “box ticking” and “tool-kit” approach aimed at satisfying legislative and policy requirements instead of viewing and implementing it as a genuine tool for cultivating an engaged public. Moreover, the constant complaint by park management of lack of genuine conservation interest by the communities is perhaps a clear demonstration that mainstream conservation practices remain alienating to local communities. Conservation began by excluding local populations and now blames them for their lack of interest.