Strifes of the frontier: an assessment of Acacia mearnsii related park-community conflicts in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park, South Africa

Abstract This study coins the “reality-worldview” framework to examine park-community conflicts arising from the expediency to protect the environmental integrity of a South African national park from bio-invasion. The study used remote sensing data to investigate the state of vegetation cover along the northern fringes of the park and an adjacent communal grazing area to determine differences in plant based resource endowments between the two areas. The study also involved the discriminant analysis of survey responses from park officials and local communities regarding perceptions about the environmental impacts of Acacia mearnsii invasion, as well as how the species spreads and how the species can be controlled. The objective of the study was to assess park-community conflicts arising from initiatives to limit community access to park resources on the justification of the need to prevent the invasion of the park by A. mearnsii. The study concludes that even though uncontrolled movement of people and livestock creates the obvious danger of invasion of the park by the species, the extent to which the species is viewed as an environmental threat depends on the “worldviews” of the stakeholders, the bridging of which can only be achieved through negotiation, environmental awareness and education campaigns and provision of training in conflict resolution to the belligerents.