In tourism studies, the term ‘sustainability’ is framed by the kind of development that broadly treats all stakeholders with equity (Morrison Victurine, & Mishra, 2009). The term is used when describing environmental, social, and economic, social justice, and equal rights which all spill-over to symbiotic HWC. The term also embraces the concepts of freedom, democracy, public participation, and local citizen empowerment (Morzillo, Kirsten, De Beurs & Martin-Mikle, 2014). The characteristics of equity are all prerequisites to the growth, freedom, peace, and livelihood of all species in human–wildlife coexisting communities (Coleman, 2011). Furthermore, the kind of democracy that is required for sustainability does not necessarily mean the involvement of the whole community at all levels. The five
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approaches that are discussed in the stakeholder engagement approach and model designed by Chase et al. (2000) assume that the creation of a democratic platform by wildlife management, including the implementation of a process of citizen participation, would tend to lead to the development of sustainable livelihoods in coexisting communities. According to Dickman (2010a), it is in the capacity of wildlife conservation agencies to determine where, and when, to involve the communities with which they are concerned, within the frameworks of the community representative capacities and their existing corpus of knowledge.
Conservation tourism must consider the present and triple bottom impacts on the environment, thereby addressing the needs of the tourists, the wildlife, the environment, and the local residents (Madden & McQuinn, 2014). One may be justifying my arguing that, present tourism development must be developed with the aim to sustain future tourism. The concept of sustainable development in HWC must reflect the interests of both the residents and the local authorities. With the current study having sought to strike a balance in terms of resource consumption in coexisting communities, both wildlife management and the local residents must be accountable and responsible for satisfying mutually set goals that are designed to support tourism, wildlife, and human welfare. According to Dickman (2010b), dealing with HWCs in the absence of a mindset of sustainability, accountability, and responsibility would make the whole effort a futile exercise. The concept seeks to balance the demands made by key stakeholders (i.e. local residents and local authorities), whose impacts inevitably affect tourism (Jabareen, 2008). In the above-mentioned context, the sustainability concept was considered fit for grounding the current study objectives.
2.6 Summary
The conceptual framework of the current study has been presented in the present chapter. The conceptual framework was formulated around theories and ideologies upon which the study revolves. Such theories or ideologies include the SET, the stakeholder engagement approach, CCB, and sustainability. Firstly, and foremost, the SET was discussed. After the SET, the chapter dwell the stakeholder engagement theory, with a view to CCB and sustainability. The concepts were developed I such a way that they logically support one another in terms of exploring and explain phenomena which they intend to present in the framework. This was basically the stance which was adopted for the current study. The discussion embarked on in the present chapter linked all the aforementioned concepts
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together to show how they could each contribute, in their own way, to meeting the main objective of this study.
The present chapter (i.e. conceptual framework) forms part of the literature review for the present study. The conceptual framework and the literature review all seeks to address the key objective of the research. The following chapter advances the literature review by addressing issues like the interaction of the local communities and the tourism authorities in coexisting communities, the role of wildlife in boosting the local economies, the evolution of HWC and tourism development in Zimbabwe, and the types of, and reasons for, HWCs affecting tourism development, as well as the implications of such conflict for tourism. The following chapter also focuses on the measures adopted to prevent and mitigate HWCs, so as to ensure smooth tourism development, as well as on the associated challenges faced in promoting peaceful coexistence and sustainable tourism.
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CHAPTER THREE LITERATURE REVIEW 3.1 Introduction
Chapter three intends to lay a theoretical impression of a number of philosophies in relation to the perceptions of the local residents and authorities towards HWCs, and the resultant effects on tourism in Zimbabwe. The first part of the chapter gives a theoretical overview of how the local residents previously coexisted with wildlife in the PAs, so as to explain the beginning of the transitions currently affecting tourism in such communities. Based on Victoria Falls, the section discusses the local resident perspective, showing the importance of HWC, with an aim to stress the vitality for Zimbabwe to integrate the concept in addressing the loopholes underscored in the first chapter. The loopholes include limited research and analysis on HWC, and the contribution that sustainable tourism and improved living standards could make to the people living in such communities.
Secondly, the present chapter presents a theoretical overview of the evolution of HWC, showing how and why such conflicts continue to affect tourism. The section in question is embedded in the issue of HWC at a global level, with the related literature reflecting the context of Zimbabwe’s coexisting communities. In addition, the arguments spill over into the area of HWCs and tourism development in Zimbabwe, so as to garner a direct theoretical perspective on the country reviewed. Furthermore, by means of unpacking the different types and causes of conflict occurring in the human–wildlife coexisting communities, the researcher aimed to bridge the research gap regarding the causes of HWCs in Victoria Falls, as emphasized in the first chapter under the significance of the study.
Thirdly, the current chapter also lays down a theoretical overview of the HWCs implications on tourism and the environment, with it seeking to establish a sound basis for sustainable coexistence and tourism development. A review of the measures adopted to prevent and/or mitigate conflicts concludes the current chapter. The measures taken to prevent and/or mitigate HWCs were discussed in relation to how the HWCs, as shown in terms of the objectives stated in Chapter One, could be overcome, so as to promote sustainable tourism in the PAs.
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