Soto, Bartolomeu.
Abstract:
Wildlife management in Moryambique has had a troubled history. The end of civil war and
installment of a democratic Government provided opportunity to redefine policy and
implementation of conservation. Weakened by civil strife and with wildlife decimated in many
areas, Government sought approaches to conservation that would promote participation by investors
and civil society, particularly rural communities. The intention is to acknowledge the rights of rural
people to resources and the benefits that can accrue from their use. Partnerships are seen as a way in
which Government can bring the required financial and human resources to bear whilst at the same
time engendering positive attitudes to conservation in general, and to policy in particular.
The purpose of this research is to examine, using two case study conservation areas, the
consequences of Government's attempts to implement its policy. The philosophical basis for the
research is that policy reform and implementation should be envisaged as a complex system
comprising many interactions and that when this complexity is not acknowledged and addressed
systemically, it predisposes the process of policy reform and implementation to failure. A principal
cause of failure is considered to be that assumptions are not made explicit and this results in
development and application of an approach that does not accord with reality. Further, because of
the networked nature of the system, failure at one point can be magnified as its consequences are
propagated through the system.
A conceptual framework for policy reform and implementation is developed. This exposes some
critical assumptions about Government's capacity to implement policy and the ways in which
implementation is experienced by stakeholders, especially local communities. Context is provided
by tracing the evolution of approaches to conservation in Moryambique from the pre-colonial era to
the present. The findings are that Government does not have the capacity to implement its
conservation policy and this is shown to have serious implications for how local people perceive
and respond to Government approaches to conservation. Causal factors are analysed and assessed. It
is concluded that the process of policy reform and implementation is complex but that a systems
approach provides a simple and easily comprehended way in which this complexity can be
interpreted and taken into account with potentially very significant benefits.
Perceptions are shown to be a powerful determinant of response to policy reform and
implementation. As these are commonly a basis for destructive tensions between parties, it is
suggested that research directed at defining the principles that should underpin management of
perceptions and tensions should be encouraged.
