Case study of policies that support sustainable development in Africa: The Save Vaalley Conservancy, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Save Valley Conservancy in south-eastern Zimbabwe is the largest amalgamation of privately owned ranches devoted to wildlife production, in Africa. Its members have converted their properties from cattle operations into components of what is in effect a private game reserve, with internal game fencing having been removed in accordance with a constitution that was adopted m . 991. his land use transition has not been a smooth process because the policy environment has not been conducive to the ongoing development of the conservancy since 1995. Despite recognition at a technical level of the conservancy as a new model for sustain; bk land use, the attitudes of government authorities towards commercial wildlife production have hardened, mainly because of underlying and intensifying political trends related to land ownership within Zimbabwe. The individuals and agencies that have catalyzed the development of this conservancy have exerted their efforts along three dimensions: ecological sustainability, economic sustainability and sociopolitical sustainability. Although the ecological and economic achievements of the conservancy are already clear, its socio-political sustainability is less certain. The policy environment under which the conservancy has evolved, and the policy environment which it must now adapt to, warrant analysis m view of the applicability of this large-scale conservancy model to other African areas of limited agricultural potential.