Natural Resource Conflicts in Western Zimbabwe

This chapter identifies and examines pertinent issues of land and natural resource conflicts in western Zimbabwe from pre-colonial times to the present, in the context of broader natural resource contestations in the country. Particular attention is paid to the conflicts over land and resources. Laws were promulgated in the colonial period (1890–1980), especially to deny access to productive land by black Zimbabweans and to elevate the land access and livelihoods of white Zimbabweans. Despite political independence in 1980, significant challenges around access to live-providing natural resources continue to generate and configure contestations, including conflicts with government and between ethnic groups (such as the Tshwa and Kalanga) in Matabeleland. These conflicts relate to the Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE), communal and private land tenure systems, artisanal and small-scale mining, and changes in the commercial economy and mining industry of Zimbabwe. The CAMPFIRE initiative was aimed at increasing wildlife conservation while, at the same time, ensuring greater economic benefits to local people (through revenue generated from wildlife tourism and hunting). Though some progress has been made towards reducing natural resource conflicts through for instance CAMPFIRE, such conflicts remain pervasive in western Zimbabwe.