ENVIRONMENTAL NGOS, DISPOSSESSION, AND THE STATE - THE IDEOLOGY AND PRAXIS OF AFRICAN NATURE AND DEVELOPMENT

Zimbabwe provides a significant context to examine the interplay of th e new development rhetoric, the actions of powerful conservation organ izations, donor policies, a relatively strong and stable government, a nd the empowerment of local communities. This interplay exists in dive rse rural areas where the Communal Areas Management Program for Indige nous Resources (CAMPFIRE) is in various stages of experimentation and implementation. CAMPFIRE has been described as a philosophy of sustain able rural development that enables rural communities to manage, and b enefit directly form indigenous wildlife. It is the best known of Afri can efforts ts to permit African communities to re-assert their manage ment of selected natural resources. The program has the official suppo rt of the Zimbabwean government Nonetheless, there are many potential areas of serious conflict. Three case studies are utilized to explore how the challenges of repossession of critical environmental resources by marginalized communities in the changing context of state and NGO relationships where international tourism is a revenue generator for b oth the private sector and government.