Paper short abstract:

Drawing upon different stakeholders’ perceptions and experiences, we discuss the present and future environmental, economic, ideological and political trade-offs and challenges derived from the ornamental sector and gardening in the drylands of southern Africa.

Paper long abstract:

The use of plants in ornamental gardening and landscaping is growing as an opportunity for employment, occupational therapy and enjoyment in southern Africa. In particular, the restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic boosted public interest in gardening. This growing interest links to the widespread love for and traditions associated with plants in African communities, the increasing media coverage about climate change and environmental security, and the increasing modernisation of southern Africa. As with any industry, the development of the ornamental sector engenders a complex web of trade-offs. This paper draws upon empirical data collected in several countries across southern Africa to unpack these trade-offs from several outlooks and angles. We describe the ornamental sector and the use of ornamental plants in southern Africa and address the historical, socioeconomic and environmental factors shaping them. We focus on the transnational nature of the ornamental sector, emphasizing the socioeconomic and environmental trade-offs, particularly between personal preferences and rights and environmental sustainability (specifically biological invasions, biosecurity, and water security). We debate the socio-cultural significance of ornamental plants and landscaping styles across the sub-region. We analyse how the ornamental sector supply chain, the use of certain plants and the landscaping practices reflect not only the environmental characteristics of the drylands but the history, geopolitics and power relations within the sub-region. We call for a debate on what future scenarios might look like and what actions might take if the prevention of biological invasions and the protection of human livelihoods and rights in the sub-region are priorities.

Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the relationship between transboundary conservation and emerging dynamics of territoriality on the African continent by drawing on research on the politics of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA) in north-eastern Namibia.

Paper long abstract:

This paper explores the relationship between transboundary conservation and emerging dynamics of political authority in the Namibian component of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCAs). In three steps it shows that understanding the implementation of transboundary conservation requires a perspective beyond imperatives of ecological connectivity, wildlife corridors and borderless nature.

Firstly, the paper argues that the establishment of KAZA should primarily be understood in relation to its political purposes for state power. Secondly, the implementation of transboundary conservation does have immediate consequences for political authority through a reconfiguration of borders, sovereignty and territory. By exerting eco-governmental control through transboundary conservation the cross-border, cross-scalar and cross-sectoral setting of KAZA gives rise to new forms of territoriality which can no longer be conceived with conventional concepts of political theory. Thirdly, encouraging a decolonial perspective on environmental governance in Africa, the paper asserts that the emergence of graduated forms of sovereignty and territoriality through transboundary conservation challenges the application of Eurocentric conceptions of state power on the African continent. By linking postcolonial debates on African statehood with Political Geography perspectives on new dynamics of political authority in the 21st century, the paper argues, that transboundary conservation is a significant element in making and remaking the African Green State.

Paper short abstract:

This paper retraces historical border disputes and ongoing violent wildlife conflict along the Chobe river. We show the discrepancy between the experiences of people living along the river and the long-lasting friendship between the two governments, for example in their involvement in the KAZA TFCA.

Paper long abstract:

Through the lens of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfontier Conservation areas (KAZA-TFCA), we explore how green violence orchestrated by Botswana’s militarised anti-poaching units has aggravated tense relations between people living along the border river and the Botswana government– and continues to do so. Wildlife is a crucial economic and political asset of Botswana and increasingly also of the Namibian Zambezi region on the other side of the river. The high value of certain species, such as elephants, large cats, and even rhinos, linked them inextricably with conservation, tourism, and therefore poaching and militarized border policing. This regularly leads to harassment and even the killing of people living along the river on the Namibian side. As we will show in our paper, there is a large discrepancy between the close political collaboration and long-lasting friendship of the two countries, as presented for example in the joint initiative for wildlife protection (e.g. the KAZA-TFCA), and the violent ground realities along the river. The situation along the Linyanti/Chobe river is complicated by long-lasting conflicts over the exact position of the national border (e.g. Sedudu/Kasikili Island) as well as disputes over hunting and fishing regulations. In our paper, we combine micro-level histories and experiences of people living along the border with political and legal analyses of the inter-governmental relationship between the two countries and their respective wildlife and conservation policies.