From Conflict to Negotiation: Nature-Based Development on South Africa's Wild Coast

From Conflict to Negotiation provides a South African case study of the shift from protectionism to sustainable development in the 1990s. Located on the 'Wild Coast' of the Eastern Cape, Dwesa-Cwebe consists of a nature and marine reserve with eight adjacent resident communities that have historically depended on local forest, grassland and coastal resources. This area has been the focus of one of the earliest efforts in the 'new' South Africa to restore to the Xhosa-speaking residents ownership of a protected area from which they had been excluded for decades. Unusually, the residents initiated the process. An early academic intervention designed to bring the residents and conservationists together was later expanded. Complementing the roles of government and NGOs, environmentalists and socio-cultural anthropologists, among others involved in this project, have attempted to address the conundrum of sustainable development policy implementation in a complex setting. From Conflict to Negotiation details the findings of this pioneering research project. It is the story of local empowerment regained as confrontation yielded to negotiation and negotiation yielded co-management, local ownership and developmental partnerships. This landmark study will provoke ongoing discussion and research in an exciting new forum of community development.