Extraction of primary products from a controlled area: The case of the Makuleke community and the Kruger National Park, South Africa

In less developed countries, national parks and equivalent reserves have become a considerable burden and irritant to local populations, a fact now widely recognized by development experts and conservationists. A source of irritation is the closing of protected areas to local populations thus prohibiting use and extraction of many resources these communities have traditionally had access to and upon which they are often highly dependent. This fact has led to the suggestion that limited traditional use and extraction of traditionally demanded resources be allowed. "Resource sharing," however, presents innumerable problems, among them being that managers seldom know what resources have been used and might be desired now.;This dissertation investigates resource sharing between the Makuleke community and the Kruger National Park in South Africa. Interviews and exercises identifying traditional demands and extraction techniques were conducted with the Makuleke who live adjacent to the Kruger National Park. Research in the Makuleke community investigated peoples' understanding of the local natural resources, particularly: (1) how they use (or have used) the natural resources, and (2) how they understand the consequences of their use of the resources. Emphasis was placed on both the Makuleke's knowledge, historic and contemporary, about resource utilization on communal land and in the park and on what knowledge and traditions are being passed on to the next generation.;Findings include a catalog of natural items that have been or are being used by the Makuleke. While the community members can work with a researcher to reveal natural resource use, they are far better at identifying the resources in the field than they are at remembering and articulating their memory in interviews. Consequently, if parks and communities are to share resources, communities, as resource users, must identify their wants and needs. While this dissertation does not approach the problem of sustainably meeting the demands of the Makuleke community, it is evident that there is a much better chance of achieving a satisfactory compromise when a community can approach relevant authorities with a clearly articulated listing of their wants and needs. One expected benefit is to encourage a dialogue between local people and conservation administrators which will enable smooth transition to new land use patterns. Other benefits lie in the long-term value of integrating local and external systems of conservation, both for empowerment, and for the development of more appropriate systems of environmental conservation.