Spatiality and ‘Borderlessness’ in Transfrontier Conservation Areas
Loading...
Date
2010-11
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Taylor & Francis Group
Abstract
This article offers a critique of transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs) by focusing on
the conception of borders in the proposition of these areas. It claims that the conception
of borders as fences that should be removed masks the actual process of bordering that
accompanies the creation of TFCAs in different socio-economic and ecological
settings. Using the local realities in southern Tanzania where the borders of neither the
state nor the protected areas are marked by physical fences, this paper demonstrates
how proponents of TFCAs engender new borders that affect the livelihoods of local
residents. The assumption that TFCAs follow natural borders is problematic, in that
borders are a human creation that are also spatially bounding. This paper draws on
conceptual insights from border studies to engage with narratives in transfrontier
conservation. Empirically, it uses the experience of the ongoing process of establishing
the Selous–Niassa wildlife corridor, which is a cog in the creation of the Selous–
Niassa TFCA across Tanzania–Mozambique border.
Description
Full text can be accessed at
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03736245.2010.525079
Keywords
Borders, Transfrontier conservation, Selous–Niassa, Tanzania
Citation
Noe, C., 2010. Spatiality and ‘borderlessness’ in transfrontier conservation areas. South African Geographical Journal, 92(2), pp.144-159.