ABSTRACT
This chapter uses different lenses to explore how the tension between biodiversity conservation and land rights can be viewed in South Africa. Drawing from the literature, and using examples from selected South African cases, the chapter proposes that alliances that form around biodiversity conservation on the one hand, and land or resource rights of the marginalized people on the other hand, are at the center of the tension between these disparate goals. The strength of an alliance around each of these disparate goals is dependent on the perceived meanings of both land and biodiversity conservation to those who support each of these. The dominant view is that conservation can yield tangible benefits for the all people, including the local poor. Thus biodiversity conservation is increasingly seen as a commodity, with quantifiable aspects (e.g., economic valuation of flora and fauna; the size of the protected area; number of species under threat etc.). But deeper meanings of land to local people include intangible aspects that are less appreciated by outsiders. The second issue is about the ambiguous role of the state in the tension in question. In South Africa the state is responsible for land claims on conservation land that it manages. The state’s bias for biodiversity conservation often contradicts local people’s land justice goals, again exacerbating the tension.
