Conservation-led Development as Violence: CAMPFIRE, Human–Wildlife Conflicts and Development in Kanyemba
Abstract
For the marginalised Tembo Mvura people of Kanyemba, Northern Zimbabwe, the promise of development clashes with the reality of everyday violence. This paper presents that conservation-led development in Kanyemba has been experienced as a form of violence, loss and exclusion. Drawing on ethnographic research, including semi-structured interviews and observation, the paper analyses the community’s dismissal of CAMPFIRE as a key site for this conflict. This paper uses a post-development theoretical lens to demonstrate how CAMPFIRE invalidates local knowledge and perpetuates exclusion. It challenges dominant successful conservation-led development narratives by focusing on the lived experiences of the Tembo Mvura.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Conservation
Biodiversity
and Resource Management
Community and Sustainable Development
African studies and sociopolitical issues
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Journal of Asian and African Studies
- Volume
- 61
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 4348–4364
- Publication date
- 11 January 2026
- Language
- EN