RURAL CHANGE AND NATURE CONSERVATION IN AFRICA - A CASE-STUDY FROM SWAZILAND

High population growth and deteriorating economic conditions imperil A frica's natural environment. Conservationists are trying to cope with the threat by working in rural communities. Yet it is unclear whether they can be effective when social and economic change in rural areas i s so rapid. Northeast Swaziland provides a case study. The landscape h as been transformed since the 1950s, and conservationists are the only people now giving nature conservation a high priority. Land uses inco mpatible with local nature reserves are supported because they provide jobs. Thus, conservationists find themselves facing a world where wil dlife is increasingly devalued as the forces of change accelerate. Thi s paper concludes: (1) conservationists must expand their influence in to rural communities, (2) an integrated development and conservation p lan is required for northeastern Swaziland, and (3) only the alleviati on of poverty will secure the future of nature conservation in Swazila nd as well as the rest of Africa.