Presentation short abstract

The Great Limpopo Park, seen as a wildlife kingdom and transnational cooperative space, has faced escalating violence in the 21st century. A war over its wildlife resources is ongoing . Poaching and anti-poaching efforts are turning this borderland from green to grey.

Presentation long abstract

The Great Limpopo Peace Park is not only a heavily controlled national space supporting tourism and securing borders, but also a space of dissidence where criminal syndicates operate. Despite being highly globalized in terms of tourism, the park escapes full state control and has become a focal point for rhino poaching organized by international crime networks. In this transnational enclave, illegal paramilitary groups exploit wildlife resources. The resulting illegal wildlife trade is among the most lucrative criminal markets worldwide, ranking fourth after drugs, human trafficking, and counterfeiting.

Two opposing visions of wildlife use and globalization collide here. The legal approach monetizes animal lives indirectly (tourism, trophy hunting), while the illegal one treats wildlife as a directly marketable resource (horns, ivory, skins, meat). Parks are described as “honey pots” for tourists—ironically, the same features make them attractive to poachers. This park has thus become an unstable arena where rangers and criminals clash over survival and wildlife, with predation both driving and resulting from this dissidence.

In response, states have pursued a “green militarization” of the park. Initially enhancing ranger training and equipment, they then introduced advanced technology, transforming the Great Limpopo Peace Park into a smart border that is technologically heavily militarized. The securing of wildlife resources is turning this borderland from green to grey—but what kind of grey zone is it?