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Landscape as framework for integrating local subsistence and ecotourism: a case study in Zimbabwe
Landscape and Urban Planning 53 (2001) 173±182
Landscape as framework for integrating local subsistence and ecotourism: a case study in Zimbabwe Hubert Gulinck*, Nikolaas Vyverman, Koen Van Bouchout, Anne Gobin Department of Land Management, Laboratory for Forest, Nature and Landscape Research, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Vital Decosterstraat 102, B-3000 Louvain, Belgium Received 1 November 1999; received in revised form 15 August 2000; accepted 30 November 2000
Abstract Ecotourism can be a solution for mitigating the negative environmental and socio-economic impacts of new developments in fragile environments. Before planning an ecotourist project, it is necessary to consider an area that not only covers the margins of the development zone, but also a wider perimeter of physically and culturally related landscape parts. This paper describes an approach to the demarcation and analysis of an expanded zone around a new reservoir near Bulawayo, larger than an originally designated narrow natural fringe. The concept gains in many ways, in landscape diversity, in cultural assets and in interaction with local residents to whom ecotourisms should be pro®table in the ®rst place. # 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Landscape; Ecotourism; Resettlement
1. Introduction In 1995, the ``Mtshabezi dam'' over the valley with the same name, near Bulawayo, was completed after relocation of 41 families, which caused social and economic problems unresolved so far. Now the lake stretches over 40 km, covers 440 ha, and has a capacity of over 50 million m3 (Fig. 1). The original purposes, water provision for Bulawayo and irrigation for nearby districts, still await separate decisions, investments and constructions. A nature reserve bordering a new lake in the Matopos area in southwestern Zimbabwe should help to protect the latter. The reserve was demarcated by the Umzingwane Rural *
Corresponding author. Tel.: 32-16-329741; fax: 32-16-329760. E-mail address: [email protected] (H. Gulinck). 0169-2046/01/$20.00 # 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 1 6 9 - 2 0 4 6 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 1 5 2 - 3
District Council in participation with the local communities. It stretches essentially over the steep slopes of the Mtshabezi valley (Fig. 1). As a project with a regional scope, the local bene®ts of the lake, now and in the future are unclear. For instance, none of the areas, suitable for irrigation, lies closer than 4 km from the dam. Ecotourism in the conservation site has been proposed as a new argument to generate locally bene®ting income from the lake and the adjacent reserve area and to reconcile local residents with a controversial major new element in their territory. This concept of a narrow buffer strip around the lake certainly matches many of the elementary criteria for successful ecotourism such as attractions and skills. However, it may be shortcoming in criteria such as relationship to other resources and social interaction, essentially because of the relative isolation of the reserve site and the lake, and because of an undeniable
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Fig. 1. Study area with settlements, land facets and the nature reserve.
negative perception of the lake by local residents, certainly after the ¯ooding of villages, agricultural land and sacred places. In this case, ecotourism is not just meant to be an economic complement to a marginal subsistence condition, or a plan for explicit conservation of nature values. It is also proposed as a remedy against con¯icts and frustrations that locally arose as a consequence of the dam construction. This paper highlights potentials, but also constraints for ecotourism as an instrument for sustainable development reconciling local as well as regional needs. It
adopts a further integration of the sustainable development policies for this area, in expanding the perimeter of the analysed area beyond the actual nature reserve demarcation line, including villages and communal land. In separating conservation and ecotourism from rural land use, in terms of location and of management, such bene®ts may not be at local pro®t. Settlements are dispersed over both the valley and the adjacent higher plateaus, and the people driven out of the inundated area are dispersed also outside the reserve. So there are old and new cultural links of
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Fig. 2. Methodological framework.
the reservoir site and the reserve with the broader surrounding. These linkages give sense to a broader perimeter. This paper proposes a methodological framework that takes into consideration a wider geographical context and a broader perspective on the socio-economic goals (Fig. 2). A social survey is intended to generate better possibilities for participatory approach from the onset of the project to the proper management. This procedure is ultimately intended to help local communities to widen the perception about their environment in pointing at local values that ecotourist might ®nd attractive, but that are not strictly limited to the demarcated reserve area. This paper is based on a combination of several types of information: multitemporal aerial photographs, in situ analysis of vegetation, landscape analysis supported with GIS, enquiries in villages in the neighbourhood of the reservoir, and information from local experts involved in several aspects of rural development. The type of ecotourism appropriate for this area should be de®ned more clearly, and confronted, eventually integrated, with alternative possibilities for local development, such as forestry or agricultural ameliorations. External expertise is matched with local awareness, eliminating development scenarios that ask for substantial external inputs other than ecotourism revenues. 2. Survey methods and techniques The study area (Fig. 1) is situated in Matabeleland South, 45 km south of Bulawayo and 15 km east of the well-known Matopo National Park. It is part of the
Umzingwane District. The extensive land use, little possibility for agricultural expansion and high landscape values are arguments in favour of ecotourism. The fact that the area is situated so close to the Matopo park (already at a saturation level of visitors) and is fairly well accessible is another important asset. The geomorphological, hydrological and visual coherence of the different landscape units is another important reason for expanding the attention for planning over a wider area. The study area was demarcated so as to include the catchment areas of the different tributaries of the Mtshabezi, more practically as a rectangle stretching 5 km east and west of the river, over 30 km along the valley. A preparatory analysis was based on stereoscopical aerial photographs 1/50.000 of 1975, 1985 and 1995 (Department of the Surveyor-General, s.d.). These high quality images allowed to derive a land cover map, differentiated in forest types, agricultural ®elds, geomorphic features and settlements, and the analysis of the evolution of land cover and vegetation. This information was manually transferred, square kilometre per square kilometre, onto the topographical map 1/50.000 of Bulawayo (Department of the Surveyor-General, s.d.), using features such as steep slopes, roads, dwala rocks and other stable features as topographical references. In this area, landform can be considered as the major landscape component driving hydrological, ecological, land-use and visual characteristics. Landform analysis based on the relief data of the topographical map, stereoscopy of the airphotos and the interpretation of the major vegetation formations in the area was the basis for a land facet de®nition following the land system approach of Dent and
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Table 1 Coverage and wood cutting index per type of land facet Land facet classes Dwala n 3a Rock coverage (%) (minimum±maximum) 92.6 (90±98) Tree coverage (%) (minimum±maximum) 22 (10±35) Shrub coverage (%) (minimum±maximum) 3.3 (5±5) Cutting index (minimum±maximum) 3.3 (0±10) a
Kopje n 4
High plane Steep slopes n 3 n 7
Scarp n 6
70 54 15 14
12 35 7 48
11 31 12 38
(40±90) (45±60) (10±25) (0±25)
(2±20) 41 (15±70) (20±55) 62 (30±85) (3±10) 20 (10±35) (28±75) 8 (0±14)
Plane n 5
Riverbed n 3
(5±20) 6 (10±3) 2 (18±80) 13 (10±15) 9 (2±30) 12 (25±2) 4 (14±75) 29 (20±40) 20
(2±3) (6±12) (3±5) (0±20)
n: number of vegetation measurements per land facet.
Young (1981). Each land facet (Table 1) is to be considered as a relatively uniform landscape unit. The contour lines of the topographical map were scanned, digitised, sampled and reworked into a digital elevation model. Secondly, the combined land cover information of the topographical map and the recent airphotos were digitised as well. Because of the high importance given to vegetation as a differentiating factor in ecological, perception and land-use qualities in the area, vegetation plots were demarcated in the most important land facets. As little has been described about the vegetation in the study area so far, two W±E transects across the river were sampled with 10 (25 m 25 m) squares in order to yield the maximum information about natural diversity. Another 11 squares were randomly distributed over the different land facets. Soil samples were taken in the valley, the riverbed, the scarp and on the high plateaus. One of the leading criteria in this study was terrain access, since this is considered as a success factor for ecotourism as well as a factor of potential threat resulting from ecotouristic development. Access analysis was limited to the mapping and terrain control of different categories of roads (car access roads, secondary tracks and footpaths). Supported by the physiographical analysis, vegetation analysis, access analysis and viewshed analysis, the sites and routes with the most interesting visual landscape features were searched. A topical participatory rural appraisal (PRA), concentrating on viability of the current settlements and the agricultural system, and opinions on ecotouristic development, gave insight in possible success and failure factors and in the differentiation of an eventual ecotourism plan in the area. Local people were interviewed in order to obtain information about the gen-
eral life conditions, problems in the area, expectations and opinions about their local economy, ecotourism and the dam. The interviews focussed on two villages (Fig. 1): one in the valley (Zidlabusuku) and one on the plateau (Esigodini). These villages are easily accessible from the dam and are likely to undergo the biggest impact from ecotourism. A limited number of interviews in other neighbouring villages gives the opportunity to identify speci®c problems and to check if the information from the two key villages has some general validity. The interviews were performed through a Ndebele speaking interpreter. The question list was structured in ®ve parts: demography, food production, problems, the dam, and ecotourism. Certain overlap was introduced into the important questions to guarantee some internal check. Although the village heads were interviewed at ®rst, it was tried to interview as many people as possible, irrespective of gender, age, social position and place of residence. Men and women were given the questions in some different style. Although it appeared to be very dif®cult to let the respondents draw maps of their area, aerial photographs made people curious and attentive, a kind of behaviour also observed by Groten (1997). 3. Natural resources and land use The area has a mean annual temperature of 218C, a relatively low seasonal rainfall (450±600 mm) concentrated in the period November±April, and with an irregular regime resulting in high risks of drought spells. The impacts of the extreme dry spell of the year 1991/1992, said to be due to the El NinÄo phenomenon, caused more than half the cattle to die. The
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study area is situated at the edge of the ``High Veld'', at an altitude between 900 and 1500 m above sea level, and belongs in geological terms to the huge Matopo batholith, which has an area of 2050 km2 (Garson, 1995). The old residual landscape of the Matopo area (of which the Mtshabezi area as well as the Matopo park are parts) is characterised by several types of inselbergs including dwalas, castle kopjes and tors (Pritchard, 1986). Dwalas or smooth-looking domeshaped rocks and the much more fragmented castle kopjes are very abundant in the area. In the valley, bottom two terraces can clearly be distinguished, 3 and 5 m above the sinuous riverbed, respectively. At certain places, the steep valley slopes are dissected by torrential streams with cascades. Soils are sandy with a kaolinitic clay fraction and high amounts of free iron and aluminium sesquioxides. According to the provisional 1:1,000,000 soil map of Zimbabwe (Department of Research and Specialist Services, 1979) these soils are classi®ed under the 5G class of the fersiallitic group with over 50% inclusion of bare granitic batholiths included in the mapping units. The texture is sandy, and the natural soil fertility is low (between 1 and 7 meq/ 100 g CEC). Limits for irrigated agricultural practices are generally set to 4 meq/100 g CEC, so the bene®ts of irrigation are marginal at most. Many erosion symptoms are found in the area, but could not be studied in depth within this project. Not only agricultural land but also roads seem to be very sensitive. Soil and climate are really limiting factors for further agricultural development. Under these conditions, it is advisable to maintain the maximum of the protective natural vegetation. The steep valley slopes, cut 200 m into the granitic plateau and sometimes even inaccessible for the free roaming cattle and donkeys, are dominated by magni®cent stands of Mountain Acacia Brachystegia glaucescens. This protected species is also very typical for the rough dwala terrain. Other remarkable trees are the nice colouring ``msasa'' Brachystegia spiciformis and Duiker berry Pseudolachnostylis mapruneifolia, as well as the Candelabre tree Euphorbia ingens. Along the rivers, Ebony Diospyros mespiliformis grows. In Table 1, a summary is made of the vegetation and the land facet survey, in terms of rock, shrub and tree coverage, and in terms of tree felling (derived from the count of visible wood cuts). The vegetation clearly
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adds to the diversi®cation of the landscape character in this area. The vicinity to settlements and the accessibility are important factors that explain the degree of wood exploitation. More detailed and long-term studies are needed to investigate the impact of grazing, browsing and wood cutting on the vegetation composition. The traditional land use in the communal lands is both complementary and competitive, and the farming system is a complex web of interrelated crop±cattle± game±forest production systems (Scoones and Matose, 1993). Most settlement is concentrated in villages. The number of homesteads was counted on aerial photographs of 1995. From the questionnaire, the mean number of family members can be estimated to be 5.9. The population density of the Esigodini village land (on the plateau) is about 70 persons/km2, whereas the part of Zidlabusuku (in the valley) situated in the study area was estimated to be 28 persons/km2. Virtually, all soils that can be cultivated are used for farming, so there is barely any expansion possible. Cropland is found on ¯atter areas near settlements, both in the valley bottoms and on the plateaus. This land is generally put in reasonably wellmaintained terraces. The use of woodland resources is limited for local timber and ®re wood and to extensive grazing. As such, it is an indicator of infertility or roughness. Medicinal and fruit trees are concentrated within 100 m of the homesteads. There are at least three important material components of cultural heritage. Overhanging rocks sometimes have ancient rock paintings, one of the well-known riches of the entire Matopo area. The traditional villages have marvellously painted houses and other interesting features. There are also sacred places, some of which are kept secret by the local residents. This feature certainly adds mystery to the area, and should be fully and respectfully incorporated into an ecotourism plan. Outside the reserves, there are dust roads of different dimensions and traf®cability. There are two access roads that can be used by cars. Many of the settlements are only reachable from major access sites (dam, car roads) after hours walking over dif®cult terrain. The dam and Lumene falls are well accessible, but because of the lack of facilities such as toilets and litter cans, the sites already show sign of degradation. The designated conservation area fringing the lake has very little
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tracks, an important factor for protection against unwanted disturbances. The network of minor roads (narrow dust roads and foot tracks) is much denser in the adjacent communal lands. Patterns of natural vegetation and land use, apart from the reservoir, have changed little over the last 20 years which is an indication of little demographic changes and apparent quality preservation by local and traditional land use. This relative ``robustness'' of the wider area around the lake is a good pretext for partly draining the ecotourism away from the reservoir itself, thus adding to the sustainability of the nature reserve. Inside the nature reserve, there is no cropland, and there are only footing trails on the steep slopes that at certain places and times tend to be dif®cult to trace. This can act as buffer against over-visiting the area. 4. Local perception In Table 2, a summary of the interviews in different villages is given. The response patterns are similar. In general, the perception of the dam is negative. Probably, the translocation of the people dispersed from the actual lake site towards other settlements has aggravated this feeling. The population pressure is seen as a problem everywhere. The resource problems are felt most sharply in Silobi, where at the same time the appreciation for an ecotourism project seems to be
more appreciated than elsewhere. Zidlabusuku, located in the valley, is also special for its high ranking of the erosion problem and the shortage of wood, the negative feel towards the dam and the indifference towards ecotourism. The latter is remarkable for this village is closest to the proposed reserve/ecotourism project. Esigodini, Zhilo, Shale and Sigiti show mutually similar response pro®les, all fairly positive towards the ecotourism idea. These results, although not based on an in-depth social survey, clearly show the different sets of opportunities and problems as locally appreciated. Any project in this area should be aware of the need of differentiating very carefully all policies of land use, in order to match these with not only the general regional interest, but the speci®c needs of each native settlement. This means that also the concept for ecotourism in this area should be integrated in a global plan for tackling the complex array of opportunities and problems experienced in a wider area around the reservoir and the reserve. 5. Alternatives for development Before developing the ecotourism concept for this region, three alternatives for development are shortly described. None of these alternatives are able to provide a sustainable economic basis.
Table 2 Summary of the results of the interviews in the villages of the study areaa
Population growth Immigrants from the flooded valley (number of families) Other immigrants Shortage of food Shortage of fertiliser Shortage of grazing land Land pressure Shortage of drinking water Shortage of water Erosion problems Holy places (number of families) Shortage of wood Impression of the dam Impression to tourism
Esigodini
Zidlabusuku
Zhilo
Shale
Sigiti
Silobi
(5) 0 0 (1) 0 ÿ
(8) 0 0 (1) ÿÿ 0
(5) 0 (1) ÿ
(4) 0 0 ÿ
(11) 0 0 0 0 ÿ
(8) 0 0 ÿ
a () Hardly problematic, () problematic, () serious, (0) absent/neutral, (ÿ) slightly negative, (ÿÿ) negative, () moderately positive, () positive.
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Agricultural development. Soils are sandy and have low natural fertility, and the climate is quite irregular. Only with the help of extra fertilisers and irrigation, it may be possible to raise the harvest at a predictive and sustainable higher level. Extra fertilisation is often too expensive, and irrigation of the villages with water from the dam does not seem to be very realistic. According to Agritex, a local agricultural of®ce, only irrigation schemes for valley bottom ®elds several kilometres downstreams the dam wall can be expected. The difference in altitude between the dam and the villages on the plateau is too big. Land pressure has worsened since the construction of the dam and the shift of dozens of families from the dam site to the surrounding villages. This can only cause further pressure on the soil (erosion) and the vegetation (wood cutting and overbrowsing). Fishing. The only direct bene®t from the dam till now is ®sh. Fish production could lower pressure on the land for food, especially it could alleviate the grazing pressure of cattle. There are important remarks to make, however. First of all, ®sh cannot be a full substitute for cattle, because the local socioeconomic and cultural value of the latter is not just proteins, but also a form of visible capital. The productivity of the lake is limited, because of the lack of undeep water and the steepness of the verges, hence the lack of spawning and living habitat for important ®sh species. Forestry. The trees and forests in this area play a most important role in the landscape character, in providing fuel and timber wood for local purposes, as browsing area for the cattle, and as protective structure for the whole natural environment. As such, the wood should keep its protective and complementary role in the local economy, rather than be the economic basis itself. This is certainly not an area for commercial forestry. 6. Assets for ecotourism development According to the World Tourism Organisation, Zimbabwe showed in 1996 the strongest growth in international tourism destination in Africa (WTO, s.d.), a great part of which can be attributed to ecotourism. Ecotourism intends to exploit nature values in a sustainable way for local pro®ts. The
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theoretical bene®ts and impacts of ecotourism are well known (Whelan, 1991; Boo, 1993; Price, 1994; Krausse, 1995). The potential bene®ts are generation of funds for protected area, creation of jobs and promotion of environmental education and conservation awareness (Lindberg and Hawkins, 1998). Negative aspects are environmental degradation, economic inequity and instability, and negative socio-economic and cultural changes within local communities. All ecotourism operations rely on a resource basis: a natural area comprising suf®cient beauty and/or wildlife to arouse external interests. Resource-based planning and management is essential in order to establish the sustainability of the resource system and set limits to use. In the ECOS model of ecotourism (Boyd and Butler, 1996), eight general success factors are listed: accessibility, relationship between ecotourism and other resource uses, speci®c attractions, presence of existing tourism infrastructure, a minimum level of skill and knowledge, a certain level of social interaction, acceptance of impacts and control over the level of use, and ®nally, a speci®c type of management to ensure the viability of the area on a long-term basis. Borrie et al. (1998) give a comparable list of 11 principles, rather focussed on visitor's impact management. Drawing from this list, important complementary factors to the ECOS list can be distilled: explicit management objectives, diversity of resources with spread of ecotourism development, consensus among affected groups, monitoring. Borrie et al. (1998) also give a critical remark about the control over the level of use. Applied to the two ecotourism perimeters proposed, the original one corresponding with the narrow reserve lake fringe and the expanded perimeter as suggested in this paper, a qualitative assessment table can be presented (Table 3). The potentials of the limited ecotourism perimeter are manifest. The ®rst important element is the dam and the lake as assets for relatively concentrated recreation such as walk on the dam wall, view over the lake and boating on the lake. Shore activities are possible but limited for the steep slopes and shortage of shallow parts or beaches. Modesty and respect should be important constraints, not in the least for the fact that the lake has ¯ooded sacred places and graveyards, one of the causes of negative feelings.
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Table 3 Qualitative comparison of alternative ecotourism demarcations
Accessibility Attractions Diversity of resources Relationship with other resource uses Existing infrastructure Skill and knowledge Social interaction Acceptance of certain impact level Specific type management Management objectives Consensus among affected groups Monitoring
Lake fringe reserve
Expanded perimeter
Good Good Moderate Limited Limited Limited Little opportunities To be assessed To be planned Specific To be negotiated To be planned
Good Very good Very high High Limited Limited Better opportunities To be assessed To be planned Diversified To be negotiated To be planned
Intensive water recreation with motor boats or the lake should be banned from any programme, also since they basically do not ®t the principles of ecotourism. On the other hand, the bleak and strongly disturbed ¯at at the foot of the dam merits some skilful development. The immediate neighbourhood of the dam as a whole could well support a meeting place, market, accommodation and education/information place, under control and to the pro®t of local inhabitants (there is a village in this area) and in strictly environmentally and culturally friendly fashions. The ecotourist type for this component matches in the ®rst place the ``ecogeneralist'', being a person asking for easy access, some development and comfort of the visited area, well-organised trips, a relative high tolerance to frequent contact with other visitors. This type needs relatively little skills, knowledge and efforts to enjoy the setting (Boyd and Butler, 1996). In this type of area, the ecotourism accommodations should be small scale, based on local ownership, management and construction (Krausse, 1995). However, these ideas might be environmental friendly, the investments will clearly need substantial external inputs. If the local district cannot afford these investments itself, the risk of a long-term dependency of external developers should not be neglected. The concentrated development of ecotourism facilities might be of limited pro®t to the more distant villages. The alternative is the wider area surrounding the lake, not only the reserve area but including the extensive agricultural area further away. This is much more an opportunity for promoting a trekking type
recreation, pro®ting for the grand landscape diversity including footpaths, non-intrusive meetings with settlements, view of ®ne architecture, waterfalls, natural vegetation formations, rock formations, some of the accessible rock paintings, views over the lake, dispersed lodges, etc. Given the relative safe footing access to this area, several very interesting walking routes can be de®ned. The reserve itself should be given limited access. The ecotourist for this component rather matches the ecospecialist type, asking for speci®c personal experiences and information in a natural setting, limited and selected social contact, limited needs of comfort and development, and with strong interest and respect for local natural and cultural values. A few sites are already intensively visited, such as Lumene falls. Other and similar sites are less accessible, such as Matshatshatsha falls. Since these touristic assets are much more dispersed and located in the homerange of the local population, they might provide better opportunities for social interaction, for local control of the ecotouristic development, for diverging extreme pressure from the delicate lake fringe, and for a more equitable distribution of the gains of ecotourism. Further research should investigate the market value of this type of product. Landscape values are the ecological, aesthetical and cultural assets in a structured area of recognisable character or composition. It cannot be denied that this area has very high landscape values, according to virtually any of these criteria. Most of the values can easily be deduced from the analysis of the resource topics described here above. The land facet analysis
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together with the vegetation and land-use mapping gives a good entrance in the description of the diversity of the landscape character of the area and of its units. Especially in the frame of ecotourism, it is important to de®ne the routes, viewpoints and landforms along which the maximal expressivity of characteristics of the area are to be experienced. The different landform and vegetation structures should be further investigated in landscape ecological terms (Forman, 1995), such as in the de®nition of corridors and networks linking the lake and the reserve area to the wider surroundings including the nearby Matopos National Park. Given the marginal potentials of other types of resource productivity, the magni®cent landscape values, and the positive attitude of the local people, ecotourism can be recommended as the key development scenario. This ecotourism should be planned with the following principles: Establish a differentiated marketing scheme under constraints of development possibilities, types of ecotourist and carrying capacity of the area. Selective development of access, taking into consideration the areas for concentrated visits, and the areas that should have limited or no disturbance for external visitors. Prohibited should be important parts of the nature reserve, sacred places and places with vulnerable archaeological relics. Design walking tracks according to those principles and provide carefully designed and well-fitted facilities for accommodation. Use as much as possible local products and styles for any type of construction. Provide an ecotourism and education centre near the dam, and let it be run by the local district in close cooperation with the villages in the neighbouring area. Carefully design the dam wall basis area and allow limited and silent types of boating on the lake. Look for the sustainable opening up of other ``honeypots'' outside the reserve, such as the cascades or rock painting. Develop an integrated programme for local production of food, timber, drinking water, solar energy and other material needs. Establish a monitoring programme for studying the dynamics of the vegetation, ecotourism use of the
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area, and agricultural, pastoral and silvicultural practices. 7. Discussion and conclusions Multiple scale and perspective approaches are needed for a rational and sustainable introduction of new natural resource uses, such as in the case of a water reservoir in an area rich in landscape and cultural values, but also rich in controversies. The arti®cial lake itself may be acceptable from its logical integration in the landscape morphology, but largescale water conveying to other areas may not be for its likely multiple environmental impacts and high costs. There are differences in attitudes towards the local resources and the ecotourism concept between the villages. The overall appreciation is more negative in the case the villages already had to face impacts of the dam construction, for instance by the ¯ooding of sacred places or by the in¯ux of relocated people. If in addition, little direct economic pro®t is to be expected for the local subsistence rural settlements, one of the unique solutions is to make the lake the core of an ecotouristic development scheme, for which the local attitude is slightly positive. Spatial segregation of a limited ecotouristic project area is expected to limit the possibilities for local participation, since most villages are situated outside the reserve perimeter. There is, however, an alternative to the basic option for segregating spatially the traditional rural functions (essentially subsistence agriculture) on one hand from the lake with its nature reserve fringe and the current ecotouristic concept on the other hand. It can be concluded that the methodological integration of three components is fruitful: screening a proposed project for established ecotourism criteria, landscape and land-use assessment of a wider spatial context and making an analysis of the differentiated local attitudes. Management policies should be spatially differentiated in a framework of landscape physiographic, vegetation and character units. Local values and perceptions should be respected and integrated as part and parcel of further planning, management and monitoring. An ecological research and monitoring programme should be set up for better understanding agro-ecological ¯ows, vegetation succession and dis-
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turbances, ®sh protein production capacity in the new lake, etc. Ecotourism should be introduced in a progressive way and be accompanied by a general educational pilot programme about sustainable use of natural and cultural resources. Since the expected socio-economic pro®t is not only based on strictly natural resources but also cultural, social and land-use assets, the term ecotourism should be used in a broadened de®nition. As a general conclusion, more attention should be given to sustainable land-use types that are not strictly con®ned within narrow paradigms of conservation and development. The landscape concept, in its capacity to integrate the diversity of natural, cultural, social and land-use resources certainly plays an important role. Acknowledgements The authors are very thankful to the Umzingwane Rural District Council for its support in information and logistics, and the Department of the SurveyorGeneral for allowing to use and GIS-integrate for their cartographic information. A special word of thanks to Hasse and Birgitta Ericsson of the Swedish Cooperation in Zimbabwe for the introduction to the study area, and for regular advice and practical support.
References Boo, E., 1993. Ecotourism planning for protected areas. In: Lindberg, K., Hawkins, D. (Eds.), Ecotourism: A Guide for Planners and Managers. The Ecotourism Society, Vermont, pp. 15±31 (Chapter 1). Borrie, W.T., McCool, S.E., Stankey, G.H., 1998. Protected area planning principles and strategies. In: Lindberg, K., Wood, M.E., Engeldrum, D. (Eds.), Ecotourism: A Guide for Planners and Managers, Vol. 2. The Ecotourism Society, Vermont, pp. 133±154 (Chapter 6). Boyd, S.W., Butler, R.W., 1996. Development of an ecotourism opportunity spectrum (ECOS) for sites identi®ed using GIS in northern Ontario. NODA/NFP Technical Report TR11. Northern Ontario Development Agreement, s.l. Dent, D., Young, A., 1981. Soil Survey and Land Evaluation. Allen & Unwin, London.
Department of the Surveyor-General, s.d. Topographical map of Zimbabwe 1/50.000 and B/W aerial photographs 1/50.000 of Zimbabwe, 1975, 1985, 1995. Department of the SurveyorGeneral, Harare, Zimbabwe. Forman, R., 1995. Land Mosaics. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Garson, M., 1995. The geology of the Bulawayo Greenstone Belt and the surrounding granitic terrain. Zimbabwe Geological Survey Bulletin 93, Harare. Groten, S., 1997. Les photographies aeÂriennes comme moyen de communication dans la gestion des terroirs. Agriculture Ð DeÂveloppement Rural 1, 11±14. Krausse, G., 1995. Sustainable tourism for remote atolls in the Paci®c. Int. J. Sustainable Dev. World Ecol. 2, 166±181. Lindberg, K., Hawkins, D. (Eds.), 1998. Ecotourism: A Guide for Planners and Managers, Vol. I. The Ecotourism Society, Vermont, TES Publications. Price, M., 1994. A fragile balance. Geographical, September 1994, pp. 32±33. Pritchard, J., 1986. Landform and Landscape in Africa. Edward Arnold (in association with Academic Books), Harare, Zimbabwe. Scoones, I., Matose, F., 1993. Local woodland management: constraints and opportunities for sustainable resource use. In: Bradley, P., McNamara, K. (Eds.), Living with Trees. World Bank Technical Paper 210. Washington, DC, pp. 157±198. Whelan, T., 1991. Ecotourism and its role in sustainable development. In: Wheland, T. (Ed.), Nature Tourism. Management for the Environment. Island Press, Washington, DC, pp. 3±22. WTO, s.d. Regional overview: Africa. World Tourism Organisation. http://www.world-tourism.org/ESTA/highlights/mainhigh. htm. Hubert Gulinck is an Associate Professor at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in landscape research and rural planning. He received his Ph.D. degree from the same university. He is active in the fields of landscape research supported by remote sensing and GIS, and in general issues concerning landscape and rural planning. Nikolaas Vyverman was a Graduate Student in applied biological sciences at the investigation time for this paper. Nowadays, he is a junior expert in GIS and spatial planning in two consultancy offices. Koen Van Bouchout was a Graduate Student in applied biological sciences at the investigation time for this paper. Nowadays, he is a junior expert in GIS and spatial planning in two consultancy offices. Anne Gobin is a Research Assistant at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. In August 2000, she obtained her Ph.D. degree on land evaluation and geographical land-use aspects in rural Nigeria.
Landscape as framework for integrating local subsistence and ecotourism: a case study in Zimbabwe Hubert Gulinck*, Nikolaas Vyverman, Koen Van Bouchout, Anne Gobin Department of Land Management, Laboratory for Forest, Nature and Landscape Research, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Vital Decosterstraat 102, B-3000 Louvain, Belgium Received 1 November 1999; received in revised form 15 August 2000; accepted 30 November 2000
Abstract Ecotourism can be a solution for mitigating the negative environmental and socio-economic impacts of new developments in fragile environments. Before planning an ecotourist project, it is necessary to consider an area that not only covers the margins of the development zone, but also a wider perimeter of physically and culturally related landscape parts. This paper describes an approach to the demarcation and analysis of an expanded zone around a new reservoir near Bulawayo, larger than an originally designated narrow natural fringe. The concept gains in many ways, in landscape diversity, in cultural assets and in interaction with local residents to whom ecotourisms should be pro®table in the ®rst place. # 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Landscape; Ecotourism; Resettlement
1. Introduction In 1995, the ``Mtshabezi dam'' over the valley with the same name, near Bulawayo, was completed after relocation of 41 families, which caused social and economic problems unresolved so far. Now the lake stretches over 40 km, covers 440 ha, and has a capacity of over 50 million m3 (Fig. 1). The original purposes, water provision for Bulawayo and irrigation for nearby districts, still await separate decisions, investments and constructions. A nature reserve bordering a new lake in the Matopos area in southwestern Zimbabwe should help to protect the latter. The reserve was demarcated by the Umzingwane Rural *
Corresponding author. Tel.: 32-16-329741; fax: 32-16-329760. E-mail address: [email protected] (H. Gulinck). 0169-2046/01/$20.00 # 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 1 6 9 - 2 0 4 6 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 1 5 2 - 3
District Council in participation with the local communities. It stretches essentially over the steep slopes of the Mtshabezi valley (Fig. 1). As a project with a regional scope, the local bene®ts of the lake, now and in the future are unclear. For instance, none of the areas, suitable for irrigation, lies closer than 4 km from the dam. Ecotourism in the conservation site has been proposed as a new argument to generate locally bene®ting income from the lake and the adjacent reserve area and to reconcile local residents with a controversial major new element in their territory. This concept of a narrow buffer strip around the lake certainly matches many of the elementary criteria for successful ecotourism such as attractions and skills. However, it may be shortcoming in criteria such as relationship to other resources and social interaction, essentially because of the relative isolation of the reserve site and the lake, and because of an undeniable
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Fig. 1. Study area with settlements, land facets and the nature reserve.
negative perception of the lake by local residents, certainly after the ¯ooding of villages, agricultural land and sacred places. In this case, ecotourism is not just meant to be an economic complement to a marginal subsistence condition, or a plan for explicit conservation of nature values. It is also proposed as a remedy against con¯icts and frustrations that locally arose as a consequence of the dam construction. This paper highlights potentials, but also constraints for ecotourism as an instrument for sustainable development reconciling local as well as regional needs. It
adopts a further integration of the sustainable development policies for this area, in expanding the perimeter of the analysed area beyond the actual nature reserve demarcation line, including villages and communal land. In separating conservation and ecotourism from rural land use, in terms of location and of management, such bene®ts may not be at local pro®t. Settlements are dispersed over both the valley and the adjacent higher plateaus, and the people driven out of the inundated area are dispersed also outside the reserve. So there are old and new cultural links of
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Fig. 2. Methodological framework.
the reservoir site and the reserve with the broader surrounding. These linkages give sense to a broader perimeter. This paper proposes a methodological framework that takes into consideration a wider geographical context and a broader perspective on the socio-economic goals (Fig. 2). A social survey is intended to generate better possibilities for participatory approach from the onset of the project to the proper management. This procedure is ultimately intended to help local communities to widen the perception about their environment in pointing at local values that ecotourist might ®nd attractive, but that are not strictly limited to the demarcated reserve area. This paper is based on a combination of several types of information: multitemporal aerial photographs, in situ analysis of vegetation, landscape analysis supported with GIS, enquiries in villages in the neighbourhood of the reservoir, and information from local experts involved in several aspects of rural development. The type of ecotourism appropriate for this area should be de®ned more clearly, and confronted, eventually integrated, with alternative possibilities for local development, such as forestry or agricultural ameliorations. External expertise is matched with local awareness, eliminating development scenarios that ask for substantial external inputs other than ecotourism revenues. 2. Survey methods and techniques The study area (Fig. 1) is situated in Matabeleland South, 45 km south of Bulawayo and 15 km east of the well-known Matopo National Park. It is part of the
Umzingwane District. The extensive land use, little possibility for agricultural expansion and high landscape values are arguments in favour of ecotourism. The fact that the area is situated so close to the Matopo park (already at a saturation level of visitors) and is fairly well accessible is another important asset. The geomorphological, hydrological and visual coherence of the different landscape units is another important reason for expanding the attention for planning over a wider area. The study area was demarcated so as to include the catchment areas of the different tributaries of the Mtshabezi, more practically as a rectangle stretching 5 km east and west of the river, over 30 km along the valley. A preparatory analysis was based on stereoscopical aerial photographs 1/50.000 of 1975, 1985 and 1995 (Department of the Surveyor-General, s.d.). These high quality images allowed to derive a land cover map, differentiated in forest types, agricultural ®elds, geomorphic features and settlements, and the analysis of the evolution of land cover and vegetation. This information was manually transferred, square kilometre per square kilometre, onto the topographical map 1/50.000 of Bulawayo (Department of the Surveyor-General, s.d.), using features such as steep slopes, roads, dwala rocks and other stable features as topographical references. In this area, landform can be considered as the major landscape component driving hydrological, ecological, land-use and visual characteristics. Landform analysis based on the relief data of the topographical map, stereoscopy of the airphotos and the interpretation of the major vegetation formations in the area was the basis for a land facet de®nition following the land system approach of Dent and
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Table 1 Coverage and wood cutting index per type of land facet Land facet classes Dwala n 3a Rock coverage (%) (minimum±maximum) 92.6 (90±98) Tree coverage (%) (minimum±maximum) 22 (10±35) Shrub coverage (%) (minimum±maximum) 3.3 (5±5) Cutting index (minimum±maximum) 3.3 (0±10) a
Kopje n 4
High plane Steep slopes n 3 n 7
Scarp n 6
70 54 15 14
12 35 7 48
11 31 12 38
(40±90) (45±60) (10±25) (0±25)
(2±20) 41 (15±70) (20±55) 62 (30±85) (3±10) 20 (10±35) (28±75) 8 (0±14)
Plane n 5
Riverbed n 3
(5±20) 6 (10±3) 2 (18±80) 13 (10±15) 9 (2±30) 12 (25±2) 4 (14±75) 29 (20±40) 20
(2±3) (6±12) (3±5) (0±20)
n: number of vegetation measurements per land facet.
Young (1981). Each land facet (Table 1) is to be considered as a relatively uniform landscape unit. The contour lines of the topographical map were scanned, digitised, sampled and reworked into a digital elevation model. Secondly, the combined land cover information of the topographical map and the recent airphotos were digitised as well. Because of the high importance given to vegetation as a differentiating factor in ecological, perception and land-use qualities in the area, vegetation plots were demarcated in the most important land facets. As little has been described about the vegetation in the study area so far, two W±E transects across the river were sampled with 10 (25 m 25 m) squares in order to yield the maximum information about natural diversity. Another 11 squares were randomly distributed over the different land facets. Soil samples were taken in the valley, the riverbed, the scarp and on the high plateaus. One of the leading criteria in this study was terrain access, since this is considered as a success factor for ecotourism as well as a factor of potential threat resulting from ecotouristic development. Access analysis was limited to the mapping and terrain control of different categories of roads (car access roads, secondary tracks and footpaths). Supported by the physiographical analysis, vegetation analysis, access analysis and viewshed analysis, the sites and routes with the most interesting visual landscape features were searched. A topical participatory rural appraisal (PRA), concentrating on viability of the current settlements and the agricultural system, and opinions on ecotouristic development, gave insight in possible success and failure factors and in the differentiation of an eventual ecotourism plan in the area. Local people were interviewed in order to obtain information about the gen-
eral life conditions, problems in the area, expectations and opinions about their local economy, ecotourism and the dam. The interviews focussed on two villages (Fig. 1): one in the valley (Zidlabusuku) and one on the plateau (Esigodini). These villages are easily accessible from the dam and are likely to undergo the biggest impact from ecotourism. A limited number of interviews in other neighbouring villages gives the opportunity to identify speci®c problems and to check if the information from the two key villages has some general validity. The interviews were performed through a Ndebele speaking interpreter. The question list was structured in ®ve parts: demography, food production, problems, the dam, and ecotourism. Certain overlap was introduced into the important questions to guarantee some internal check. Although the village heads were interviewed at ®rst, it was tried to interview as many people as possible, irrespective of gender, age, social position and place of residence. Men and women were given the questions in some different style. Although it appeared to be very dif®cult to let the respondents draw maps of their area, aerial photographs made people curious and attentive, a kind of behaviour also observed by Groten (1997). 3. Natural resources and land use The area has a mean annual temperature of 218C, a relatively low seasonal rainfall (450±600 mm) concentrated in the period November±April, and with an irregular regime resulting in high risks of drought spells. The impacts of the extreme dry spell of the year 1991/1992, said to be due to the El NinÄo phenomenon, caused more than half the cattle to die. The
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study area is situated at the edge of the ``High Veld'', at an altitude between 900 and 1500 m above sea level, and belongs in geological terms to the huge Matopo batholith, which has an area of 2050 km2 (Garson, 1995). The old residual landscape of the Matopo area (of which the Mtshabezi area as well as the Matopo park are parts) is characterised by several types of inselbergs including dwalas, castle kopjes and tors (Pritchard, 1986). Dwalas or smooth-looking domeshaped rocks and the much more fragmented castle kopjes are very abundant in the area. In the valley, bottom two terraces can clearly be distinguished, 3 and 5 m above the sinuous riverbed, respectively. At certain places, the steep valley slopes are dissected by torrential streams with cascades. Soils are sandy with a kaolinitic clay fraction and high amounts of free iron and aluminium sesquioxides. According to the provisional 1:1,000,000 soil map of Zimbabwe (Department of Research and Specialist Services, 1979) these soils are classi®ed under the 5G class of the fersiallitic group with over 50% inclusion of bare granitic batholiths included in the mapping units. The texture is sandy, and the natural soil fertility is low (between 1 and 7 meq/ 100 g CEC). Limits for irrigated agricultural practices are generally set to 4 meq/100 g CEC, so the bene®ts of irrigation are marginal at most. Many erosion symptoms are found in the area, but could not be studied in depth within this project. Not only agricultural land but also roads seem to be very sensitive. Soil and climate are really limiting factors for further agricultural development. Under these conditions, it is advisable to maintain the maximum of the protective natural vegetation. The steep valley slopes, cut 200 m into the granitic plateau and sometimes even inaccessible for the free roaming cattle and donkeys, are dominated by magni®cent stands of Mountain Acacia Brachystegia glaucescens. This protected species is also very typical for the rough dwala terrain. Other remarkable trees are the nice colouring ``msasa'' Brachystegia spiciformis and Duiker berry Pseudolachnostylis mapruneifolia, as well as the Candelabre tree Euphorbia ingens. Along the rivers, Ebony Diospyros mespiliformis grows. In Table 1, a summary is made of the vegetation and the land facet survey, in terms of rock, shrub and tree coverage, and in terms of tree felling (derived from the count of visible wood cuts). The vegetation clearly
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adds to the diversi®cation of the landscape character in this area. The vicinity to settlements and the accessibility are important factors that explain the degree of wood exploitation. More detailed and long-term studies are needed to investigate the impact of grazing, browsing and wood cutting on the vegetation composition. The traditional land use in the communal lands is both complementary and competitive, and the farming system is a complex web of interrelated crop±cattle± game±forest production systems (Scoones and Matose, 1993). Most settlement is concentrated in villages. The number of homesteads was counted on aerial photographs of 1995. From the questionnaire, the mean number of family members can be estimated to be 5.9. The population density of the Esigodini village land (on the plateau) is about 70 persons/km2, whereas the part of Zidlabusuku (in the valley) situated in the study area was estimated to be 28 persons/km2. Virtually, all soils that can be cultivated are used for farming, so there is barely any expansion possible. Cropland is found on ¯atter areas near settlements, both in the valley bottoms and on the plateaus. This land is generally put in reasonably wellmaintained terraces. The use of woodland resources is limited for local timber and ®re wood and to extensive grazing. As such, it is an indicator of infertility or roughness. Medicinal and fruit trees are concentrated within 100 m of the homesteads. There are at least three important material components of cultural heritage. Overhanging rocks sometimes have ancient rock paintings, one of the well-known riches of the entire Matopo area. The traditional villages have marvellously painted houses and other interesting features. There are also sacred places, some of which are kept secret by the local residents. This feature certainly adds mystery to the area, and should be fully and respectfully incorporated into an ecotourism plan. Outside the reserves, there are dust roads of different dimensions and traf®cability. There are two access roads that can be used by cars. Many of the settlements are only reachable from major access sites (dam, car roads) after hours walking over dif®cult terrain. The dam and Lumene falls are well accessible, but because of the lack of facilities such as toilets and litter cans, the sites already show sign of degradation. The designated conservation area fringing the lake has very little
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tracks, an important factor for protection against unwanted disturbances. The network of minor roads (narrow dust roads and foot tracks) is much denser in the adjacent communal lands. Patterns of natural vegetation and land use, apart from the reservoir, have changed little over the last 20 years which is an indication of little demographic changes and apparent quality preservation by local and traditional land use. This relative ``robustness'' of the wider area around the lake is a good pretext for partly draining the ecotourism away from the reservoir itself, thus adding to the sustainability of the nature reserve. Inside the nature reserve, there is no cropland, and there are only footing trails on the steep slopes that at certain places and times tend to be dif®cult to trace. This can act as buffer against over-visiting the area. 4. Local perception In Table 2, a summary of the interviews in different villages is given. The response patterns are similar. In general, the perception of the dam is negative. Probably, the translocation of the people dispersed from the actual lake site towards other settlements has aggravated this feeling. The population pressure is seen as a problem everywhere. The resource problems are felt most sharply in Silobi, where at the same time the appreciation for an ecotourism project seems to be
more appreciated than elsewhere. Zidlabusuku, located in the valley, is also special for its high ranking of the erosion problem and the shortage of wood, the negative feel towards the dam and the indifference towards ecotourism. The latter is remarkable for this village is closest to the proposed reserve/ecotourism project. Esigodini, Zhilo, Shale and Sigiti show mutually similar response pro®les, all fairly positive towards the ecotourism idea. These results, although not based on an in-depth social survey, clearly show the different sets of opportunities and problems as locally appreciated. Any project in this area should be aware of the need of differentiating very carefully all policies of land use, in order to match these with not only the general regional interest, but the speci®c needs of each native settlement. This means that also the concept for ecotourism in this area should be integrated in a global plan for tackling the complex array of opportunities and problems experienced in a wider area around the reservoir and the reserve. 5. Alternatives for development Before developing the ecotourism concept for this region, three alternatives for development are shortly described. None of these alternatives are able to provide a sustainable economic basis.
Table 2 Summary of the results of the interviews in the villages of the study areaa
Population growth Immigrants from the flooded valley (number of families) Other immigrants Shortage of food Shortage of fertiliser Shortage of grazing land Land pressure Shortage of drinking water Shortage of water Erosion problems Holy places (number of families) Shortage of wood Impression of the dam Impression to tourism
Esigodini
Zidlabusuku
Zhilo
Shale
Sigiti
Silobi
(5) 0 0 (1) 0 ÿ
(8) 0 0 (1) ÿÿ 0
(5) 0 (1) ÿ
(4) 0 0 ÿ
(11) 0 0 0 0 ÿ
(8) 0 0 ÿ
a () Hardly problematic, () problematic, () serious, (0) absent/neutral, (ÿ) slightly negative, (ÿÿ) negative, () moderately positive, () positive.
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Agricultural development. Soils are sandy and have low natural fertility, and the climate is quite irregular. Only with the help of extra fertilisers and irrigation, it may be possible to raise the harvest at a predictive and sustainable higher level. Extra fertilisation is often too expensive, and irrigation of the villages with water from the dam does not seem to be very realistic. According to Agritex, a local agricultural of®ce, only irrigation schemes for valley bottom ®elds several kilometres downstreams the dam wall can be expected. The difference in altitude between the dam and the villages on the plateau is too big. Land pressure has worsened since the construction of the dam and the shift of dozens of families from the dam site to the surrounding villages. This can only cause further pressure on the soil (erosion) and the vegetation (wood cutting and overbrowsing). Fishing. The only direct bene®t from the dam till now is ®sh. Fish production could lower pressure on the land for food, especially it could alleviate the grazing pressure of cattle. There are important remarks to make, however. First of all, ®sh cannot be a full substitute for cattle, because the local socioeconomic and cultural value of the latter is not just proteins, but also a form of visible capital. The productivity of the lake is limited, because of the lack of undeep water and the steepness of the verges, hence the lack of spawning and living habitat for important ®sh species. Forestry. The trees and forests in this area play a most important role in the landscape character, in providing fuel and timber wood for local purposes, as browsing area for the cattle, and as protective structure for the whole natural environment. As such, the wood should keep its protective and complementary role in the local economy, rather than be the economic basis itself. This is certainly not an area for commercial forestry. 6. Assets for ecotourism development According to the World Tourism Organisation, Zimbabwe showed in 1996 the strongest growth in international tourism destination in Africa (WTO, s.d.), a great part of which can be attributed to ecotourism. Ecotourism intends to exploit nature values in a sustainable way for local pro®ts. The
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theoretical bene®ts and impacts of ecotourism are well known (Whelan, 1991; Boo, 1993; Price, 1994; Krausse, 1995). The potential bene®ts are generation of funds for protected area, creation of jobs and promotion of environmental education and conservation awareness (Lindberg and Hawkins, 1998). Negative aspects are environmental degradation, economic inequity and instability, and negative socio-economic and cultural changes within local communities. All ecotourism operations rely on a resource basis: a natural area comprising suf®cient beauty and/or wildlife to arouse external interests. Resource-based planning and management is essential in order to establish the sustainability of the resource system and set limits to use. In the ECOS model of ecotourism (Boyd and Butler, 1996), eight general success factors are listed: accessibility, relationship between ecotourism and other resource uses, speci®c attractions, presence of existing tourism infrastructure, a minimum level of skill and knowledge, a certain level of social interaction, acceptance of impacts and control over the level of use, and ®nally, a speci®c type of management to ensure the viability of the area on a long-term basis. Borrie et al. (1998) give a comparable list of 11 principles, rather focussed on visitor's impact management. Drawing from this list, important complementary factors to the ECOS list can be distilled: explicit management objectives, diversity of resources with spread of ecotourism development, consensus among affected groups, monitoring. Borrie et al. (1998) also give a critical remark about the control over the level of use. Applied to the two ecotourism perimeters proposed, the original one corresponding with the narrow reserve lake fringe and the expanded perimeter as suggested in this paper, a qualitative assessment table can be presented (Table 3). The potentials of the limited ecotourism perimeter are manifest. The ®rst important element is the dam and the lake as assets for relatively concentrated recreation such as walk on the dam wall, view over the lake and boating on the lake. Shore activities are possible but limited for the steep slopes and shortage of shallow parts or beaches. Modesty and respect should be important constraints, not in the least for the fact that the lake has ¯ooded sacred places and graveyards, one of the causes of negative feelings.
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Table 3 Qualitative comparison of alternative ecotourism demarcations
Accessibility Attractions Diversity of resources Relationship with other resource uses Existing infrastructure Skill and knowledge Social interaction Acceptance of certain impact level Specific type management Management objectives Consensus among affected groups Monitoring
Lake fringe reserve
Expanded perimeter
Good Good Moderate Limited Limited Limited Little opportunities To be assessed To be planned Specific To be negotiated To be planned
Good Very good Very high High Limited Limited Better opportunities To be assessed To be planned Diversified To be negotiated To be planned
Intensive water recreation with motor boats or the lake should be banned from any programme, also since they basically do not ®t the principles of ecotourism. On the other hand, the bleak and strongly disturbed ¯at at the foot of the dam merits some skilful development. The immediate neighbourhood of the dam as a whole could well support a meeting place, market, accommodation and education/information place, under control and to the pro®t of local inhabitants (there is a village in this area) and in strictly environmentally and culturally friendly fashions. The ecotourist type for this component matches in the ®rst place the ``ecogeneralist'', being a person asking for easy access, some development and comfort of the visited area, well-organised trips, a relative high tolerance to frequent contact with other visitors. This type needs relatively little skills, knowledge and efforts to enjoy the setting (Boyd and Butler, 1996). In this type of area, the ecotourism accommodations should be small scale, based on local ownership, management and construction (Krausse, 1995). However, these ideas might be environmental friendly, the investments will clearly need substantial external inputs. If the local district cannot afford these investments itself, the risk of a long-term dependency of external developers should not be neglected. The concentrated development of ecotourism facilities might be of limited pro®t to the more distant villages. The alternative is the wider area surrounding the lake, not only the reserve area but including the extensive agricultural area further away. This is much more an opportunity for promoting a trekking type
recreation, pro®ting for the grand landscape diversity including footpaths, non-intrusive meetings with settlements, view of ®ne architecture, waterfalls, natural vegetation formations, rock formations, some of the accessible rock paintings, views over the lake, dispersed lodges, etc. Given the relative safe footing access to this area, several very interesting walking routes can be de®ned. The reserve itself should be given limited access. The ecotourist for this component rather matches the ecospecialist type, asking for speci®c personal experiences and information in a natural setting, limited and selected social contact, limited needs of comfort and development, and with strong interest and respect for local natural and cultural values. A few sites are already intensively visited, such as Lumene falls. Other and similar sites are less accessible, such as Matshatshatsha falls. Since these touristic assets are much more dispersed and located in the homerange of the local population, they might provide better opportunities for social interaction, for local control of the ecotouristic development, for diverging extreme pressure from the delicate lake fringe, and for a more equitable distribution of the gains of ecotourism. Further research should investigate the market value of this type of product. Landscape values are the ecological, aesthetical and cultural assets in a structured area of recognisable character or composition. It cannot be denied that this area has very high landscape values, according to virtually any of these criteria. Most of the values can easily be deduced from the analysis of the resource topics described here above. The land facet analysis
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together with the vegetation and land-use mapping gives a good entrance in the description of the diversity of the landscape character of the area and of its units. Especially in the frame of ecotourism, it is important to de®ne the routes, viewpoints and landforms along which the maximal expressivity of characteristics of the area are to be experienced. The different landform and vegetation structures should be further investigated in landscape ecological terms (Forman, 1995), such as in the de®nition of corridors and networks linking the lake and the reserve area to the wider surroundings including the nearby Matopos National Park. Given the marginal potentials of other types of resource productivity, the magni®cent landscape values, and the positive attitude of the local people, ecotourism can be recommended as the key development scenario. This ecotourism should be planned with the following principles: Establish a differentiated marketing scheme under constraints of development possibilities, types of ecotourist and carrying capacity of the area. Selective development of access, taking into consideration the areas for concentrated visits, and the areas that should have limited or no disturbance for external visitors. Prohibited should be important parts of the nature reserve, sacred places and places with vulnerable archaeological relics. Design walking tracks according to those principles and provide carefully designed and well-fitted facilities for accommodation. Use as much as possible local products and styles for any type of construction. Provide an ecotourism and education centre near the dam, and let it be run by the local district in close cooperation with the villages in the neighbouring area. Carefully design the dam wall basis area and allow limited and silent types of boating on the lake. Look for the sustainable opening up of other ``honeypots'' outside the reserve, such as the cascades or rock painting. Develop an integrated programme for local production of food, timber, drinking water, solar energy and other material needs. Establish a monitoring programme for studying the dynamics of the vegetation, ecotourism use of the
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area, and agricultural, pastoral and silvicultural practices. 7. Discussion and conclusions Multiple scale and perspective approaches are needed for a rational and sustainable introduction of new natural resource uses, such as in the case of a water reservoir in an area rich in landscape and cultural values, but also rich in controversies. The arti®cial lake itself may be acceptable from its logical integration in the landscape morphology, but largescale water conveying to other areas may not be for its likely multiple environmental impacts and high costs. There are differences in attitudes towards the local resources and the ecotourism concept between the villages. The overall appreciation is more negative in the case the villages already had to face impacts of the dam construction, for instance by the ¯ooding of sacred places or by the in¯ux of relocated people. If in addition, little direct economic pro®t is to be expected for the local subsistence rural settlements, one of the unique solutions is to make the lake the core of an ecotouristic development scheme, for which the local attitude is slightly positive. Spatial segregation of a limited ecotouristic project area is expected to limit the possibilities for local participation, since most villages are situated outside the reserve perimeter. There is, however, an alternative to the basic option for segregating spatially the traditional rural functions (essentially subsistence agriculture) on one hand from the lake with its nature reserve fringe and the current ecotouristic concept on the other hand. It can be concluded that the methodological integration of three components is fruitful: screening a proposed project for established ecotourism criteria, landscape and land-use assessment of a wider spatial context and making an analysis of the differentiated local attitudes. Management policies should be spatially differentiated in a framework of landscape physiographic, vegetation and character units. Local values and perceptions should be respected and integrated as part and parcel of further planning, management and monitoring. An ecological research and monitoring programme should be set up for better understanding agro-ecological ¯ows, vegetation succession and dis-
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turbances, ®sh protein production capacity in the new lake, etc. Ecotourism should be introduced in a progressive way and be accompanied by a general educational pilot programme about sustainable use of natural and cultural resources. Since the expected socio-economic pro®t is not only based on strictly natural resources but also cultural, social and land-use assets, the term ecotourism should be used in a broadened de®nition. As a general conclusion, more attention should be given to sustainable land-use types that are not strictly con®ned within narrow paradigms of conservation and development. The landscape concept, in its capacity to integrate the diversity of natural, cultural, social and land-use resources certainly plays an important role. Acknowledgements The authors are very thankful to the Umzingwane Rural District Council for its support in information and logistics, and the Department of the SurveyorGeneral for allowing to use and GIS-integrate for their cartographic information. A special word of thanks to Hasse and Birgitta Ericsson of the Swedish Cooperation in Zimbabwe for the introduction to the study area, and for regular advice and practical support.
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Department of the Surveyor-General, s.d. Topographical map of Zimbabwe 1/50.000 and B/W aerial photographs 1/50.000 of Zimbabwe, 1975, 1985, 1995. Department of the SurveyorGeneral, Harare, Zimbabwe. Forman, R., 1995. Land Mosaics. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Garson, M., 1995. The geology of the Bulawayo Greenstone Belt and the surrounding granitic terrain. Zimbabwe Geological Survey Bulletin 93, Harare. Groten, S., 1997. Les photographies aeÂriennes comme moyen de communication dans la gestion des terroirs. Agriculture Ð DeÂveloppement Rural 1, 11±14. Krausse, G., 1995. Sustainable tourism for remote atolls in the Paci®c. Int. J. Sustainable Dev. World Ecol. 2, 166±181. Lindberg, K., Hawkins, D. (Eds.), 1998. Ecotourism: A Guide for Planners and Managers, Vol. I. The Ecotourism Society, Vermont, TES Publications. Price, M., 1994. A fragile balance. Geographical, September 1994, pp. 32±33. Pritchard, J., 1986. Landform and Landscape in Africa. Edward Arnold (in association with Academic Books), Harare, Zimbabwe. Scoones, I., Matose, F., 1993. Local woodland management: constraints and opportunities for sustainable resource use. In: Bradley, P., McNamara, K. (Eds.), Living with Trees. World Bank Technical Paper 210. Washington, DC, pp. 157±198. Whelan, T., 1991. Ecotourism and its role in sustainable development. In: Wheland, T. (Ed.), Nature Tourism. Management for the Environment. Island Press, Washington, DC, pp. 3±22. WTO, s.d. Regional overview: Africa. World Tourism Organisation. http://www.world-tourism.org/ESTA/highlights/mainhigh. htm. Hubert Gulinck is an Associate Professor at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in landscape research and rural planning. He received his Ph.D. degree from the same university. He is active in the fields of landscape research supported by remote sensing and GIS, and in general issues concerning landscape and rural planning. Nikolaas Vyverman was a Graduate Student in applied biological sciences at the investigation time for this paper. Nowadays, he is a junior expert in GIS and spatial planning in two consultancy offices. Koen Van Bouchout was a Graduate Student in applied biological sciences at the investigation time for this paper. Nowadays, he is a junior expert in GIS and spatial planning in two consultancy offices. Anne Gobin is a Research Assistant at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. In August 2000, she obtained her Ph.D. degree on land evaluation and geographical land-use aspects in rural Nigeria.