Tourism forces farmers out

Anabelle Macucule, aged 18 yrs. Got to standard six at school but now works in the fields all day [Pieternella Pieterse]

Farmers in Mozambique are losing hard won land rights, thanks to the development of a national park.

by Fiona Callister

Eight hours’ drive north of the Mozambique capital of Maputo is the settlement of Makandezule, where Alisawa Manganyi lives with his wife and five children.

The family are subsistence farmers, a tough existence made even harder by this year’s drought. But Alisawa is now faced with the prospect of moving from his land due to its inclusion in a World Bank and German Development Bank funded project that has created a national park.

The park, to link up with the mighty Kruger Park in South Africa, was created four years ago following plans drawn up by the World Bank to bring much needed tourism money into an area that had little other source of income.

However CAFOD partner UNAC – the Mozambican Farmer’s Union – argues that the current plans risk making many of those living in the park even poorer and less secure.

Land rights

In addition UNAC is concerned that, after winning a long battle with the Mozambique government to recognise land rights of subsistence farmers, those principles have been quickly abandoned to facilitate the park’s creation.

Alisawa is one of 27,000 people living within the park’s boundaries who face the prospect of either giving up their land or their land-rights. As he lives in the “core area” which contains about 6,500 people, Alisawa is likely to have to move out of the park to a new settlement designated by the government or join existing communities on the park’s boundaries.

It is a prospect which worries him. “To leave here and go to another place would be very difficult for us,” he says. “We are living in an area where drought is frequent but because we know where to go to find water then we can survive. If they take us to a place where we don’t know the territory then it would be very difficult.

The civil war virtually wiped out animals from the area so, since the park’s creation, around 3,500 herbivores including zebra and gazelles have been brought in by lorry. At the same time the border fence with South Africa was partially opened and the new additions attracted predators such as into the park.

Tough regulations

Before this change, people and animals were able to co-exist, says village chief Sebastiao Maluleke: “We are concerned at the increasing amounts of animals but not because we are not used to them.

"Many years ago there were more animals around here than there are today. But what happened back then is when a lion came into the village it was killed and so other lions knew not to approach the area.

“Now it is different because the park authorities say that you should not even frighten the animals and you should not kill them. We have been told that if we kill an animal we will have to pay a fine.”

Employment possibilities from any new tourism industry remain limited for the villagers. While any business bidding for a concession will be required to hire locals “wherever possible”, those living in the area do not have the skills necessary to take anything above the most lowly jobs in the service sector. Neither are plans in place to provide locals with those skills.

UNAC advocacy officer Diamantino Nhampossa insists: “The main plan seems to be to drive the people out by making it impossible for them to stay."

Park director Gilberto Vicente, who is well versed in public relations skills, is adamant that all the civil society groups who know the details of park plans are supportive – a claim which UNAC strongly denies.

He maintains that fears over forced removals are without foundation because such a move would contravene World Bank regulations. However, he concedes that as the number of animals increases, so will conflict with the villagers.

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