Paper short abstract:

Along the Kwando River in north-east Namibia, the lives of the residents have continuously been shaped and renegotiated over the 20th century. This paper focusses on the reconstruction of the settlement history, the transformation of local livelihoods and the introduction of new future visions.

Paper long abstract:

The Zambezi Region in north-eastern Namibia is part of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) and the conservation of wildlife and the environment is key to the development prospects of the wider region.

Within the Zambezi Region the Kwando River crosses from Singalamwe in the north to Sangwali (Nsheshe) in the south, creating a vast floodplain, which is not only home to a great variety of wildlife, but also to many people. During the 20th century, almost all people along the 100-kilometre-long corridor of the Kwando River migrated or were resettled at least once due to different reasons, such as the declaration of a cattle-free zone (in former West Caprivi), the large-scale spraying against tsetse flies, or the establishment of national parks.

In this paper, I reconstruct the history of settlements along the Kwando River and focus on the impacts of the constant relocation on local livelihoods. Often the current subsistence-based practices, such as cattle husbandry and farming, conflict with the ongoing expansion of nature conservation and tourism. Though the community-based natural resource management approach aims at participation with and a strong support of local communities, the evaluation of future visions of residents and policy makers differ widely. I would like to answer the questions, to what extent the lives of the Kwando residents were shaped by political decisions or 'past future visions' and to what extent their livelihoods were transformed over time. Subsequently, I draw the attention to the new visions, such as community-based natural resource management and the promotion of tourism, and the residents' perception towards them.