Private wildlife governance in a context of radical uncertainty: dynamics of game farming policy and practice in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

[摘要] Conversion from livestock and/or crop farming to game farming has been a notable trend onprivately owned land in South Africa over the last decades. This change has beencharacterised by the fast growth of wildlife ranching, reflected in the annual increase in landenclosed by game fences and the high demand for wildlife which is being traded privatelyand at wildlife auctions. Key environmental and agricultural legislation has been passedsince 1994 that impacts the wildlife sector, for instance, legislation on property rights,(re)distribution of resources, and biodiversity conservation in South Africa. The study soughtto investigate the extent to which the state is able to impose effective controls over land useactivities related to wildlife conservation on private land, and to explore in detail howgovernance processes actually work on the ground in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Thestudy explores how the private game farming industry positions itself with respect to existingagricultural and environmental regulations, as well as how the state is responding to thechallenge of competing needs over land and wildlife resources that is posed by the gamefarming sector. The basis of the study was to unravel findings that show interactions,discourses, policy positions, and power relations of stakeholders in the governance of gamefarming.Realising the importance of the link between environmental governance and institutions, thethesis uses the idea of institutional bricolage by Frances Cleaver to explore the governanceof private game farms through various institutional arrangements. Cleaver contends thatformal institutions created through abstract principles are not the primary means throughwhich tensions inherent in the use of natural resources are resolved. Greater focus wastherefore placed on how rules, norms and shared strategies get stitched together throughrepetitive interactions by actors involved in game ranching. Critical realism was the guidingontological philosophy for this study.Data was obtained through in-depth interviews with key informants from major stakeholderorganisations and communities linked to the private wildlife sector in KwaZulu-Natalprovince. I also collected data through visits to game farms and private wildlife reserves, andacted as an observer at game auctions, workshops and conferences. Documentaryevidence collected also served as primary data. Critical discourse analysis (which in thisstudy also incorporates political discourse analysis) was the major analytical framework.Evidence presented in this study points towards the fractured state in the governance of theprivate game farming sector. The state is not a homogeneous and monolithic entityuniformly applying itself to the regulation of the sector. There is no clear direction on theposition of private game farming at the interface of environmental and agriculturalregulations. The state lacks a clear vision for the South African countryside as shown by theoutstanding land restitution and labour tenant claims on privately owned land earmarked forwildlife production. Instead, role players in the game farming sector are using the availablegovernance arrangements to position themselves strategically for their own benefit, eventhough some of their activities cause tension.In that process, the private wildlife industry has completely changed the landscape of natureconservation in South Africa. In KwaZulu-Natal the long standing cordial relations betweenconservation authorities and private landowners have worked to the advantage of the privatelandowners. The study argues that this transformation of the institutional processesmediating the governance of the private game farming sector has been a long and enduringarrangement emerging organically over time. Changes in the regulatory regime through newlaws, amendment of existing laws and unbalanced implementation of existing laws createsan environment of considerable uncertainty for the game farmers who are the major roleplayers in the wildlife sector, yet within this context private landowners do retain significantspace for manoeuvre.

[发布机构] University of the Free State