Abstract
Local notions of conservation deserve closer scrutiny. We cannot assume that they naturally coincide with those of the tourist core; nor that they are automatically given higher priority when local populations are induced to participate in practices which conserve flora and fauna. A case study of the establishment of the Richtersveld National Park in Namaqualand, a remote arid region of South Africa, is used to argue that local attitudes to conservation and development (associated with tourism) can become increasingly cynical and ambivalent in the context of ecotourism. Furthermore, such attitudes are shaped less by economic inducements than by the often contradictory messages about conservation that are being communicated daily.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Archer, F.M. (1994) Ethnobotany of Namaqualand: the Richtersveld. Unpublished MA thesis, University of Cape Town.
Archer, F.M., Boonzaier, E.A. and Smith, A.B. Preliminary report on communal grazing patterns in the northern Richtersveld. Unpublished report submitted to the National Parks Board.
Boonzaier E.A. (1987) From communal grazing to ‘economic’ units: changing access to land in a Namaqualand reserve. Develop. S. Africa 4, 479–91.
Boonzaier E.A. (1991) People, parks and politics. In Restoring the Land: Environment and Change in Post-apartheid South Africa (M. Ramphele, ed.). London: Panos.
Boonzaier E.A., Hoffman M.T., Archer F.M. and Smith A.B. (1990) Communal land use and the ‘tragedy of the commons’: some problems and development perspectives with specific reference to semi-arid regions of southern Africa. J. Grassl. Soc. S. Africa 7, 77–80.
Carstens W.P. (1966) The Social Structure of a Cape Coloured Reserve. Cape Town: Oxford University Press.
Cock J. and Koch E. (eds) (1991) Going Green: People, Politics and the Environment in South Africa. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Fourie J. (1994) Comments on national parks and future relations with neighbouring communities. Koedoe 37, 123–36.
Lea J. (1988) Tourism and Development in the Third World. London and New York: Routledge.
Sharp J.S. and Boonzaier E.A. (1994) Ethnic identity as performance: lessons from Namaqualand. J. S. African Stud. 20, 405–15.
Silvertown J. and Sarre P. (1992) Environment and Society. Milton Keynes: The Open University.
Singh S. (1993) Ecotourism: low impact-high value dream. Tourism Recr. Res. 18, 61–4.
Williamson G. (1995) The Richtersveld National Park. Pretoria: National Parks Board.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Boonzaier, E. Local responses to conservation in the Richtersveld National Park, South Africa. Biodivers Conserv 5, 307–314 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00051776
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00051776