摘要：Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is located in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa
and neighbouring Botswana. The local communities on the South African side,
the Khomani San (Bushmen) and Mier living adjacent to the park have land
rights inside and outside the park. The path from a history of land dispossession
to being land owners has created conservation challenges manifested through
heightened inter- and intra-community conflicts. The contestations for land and
tourism development opportunities in and outside the park have drawn in powerful
institutions such as the governments, South African National Parks, private safari
companies, local interest groups and NGOs against relatively powerless local
communities. This has consequently attracted national and international interest since it
may result in further marginalization of the communities who lack the power to
negotiate resource access. Moreover, the social and political system of the San is
romanticized while little is reported about the Mier, who are an integral part of the
park management system. To make these issues more accessible to a growing
audience of interested parties and to better understand present conservation and
development challenges and opportunities, this paper synthesizes information on the
pre- and post-land restitution history of the park and the adjacent communities.
