“Bone of Contention?: Implications of Environmental Management on Conservation of Natural Resources in Zimbabwe

Abstract

This paper examines the implications of environmental management on conservation of natural resources. It further explores environmental management and conservation programmes which have been implemented by many other countries of the Global South (GS) as a management approach that can bring positive outcomes in sustainable resource management. This paper further interrogates the management regime which represents a change from centralised methods which were previously applied. Zimbabwe has been a fore runner and a pioneer of this approach in the South. Many initiatives have been employed to bring resource governance to the citizenry. It is notable that there has been a remarkable success registered by two such initiatives, the Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE) and Environmental Management Authority (EMA). However, the same cannot be said of other conservation projects in rural and resettlement areas in Zimbabwe. Data was collected using qualitative methods, descriptive analysis involving focus group discussions with community members and in-depth interviews with community leaders and key stakeholders.

Keywords: Conservation, Community, Governance, Management, Ownership,