ABSTRACT
Peace parks as a land management strategy have been around for about 100 years. This concept has gained traction within global governance circles particularly since the end of the Cold War. A “peace park,” generally defined, is a comanaged area of land or sea that straddles the borders between two and more sovereign states. The primary aim of a “peace park” is the furtherance of peace and cooperation among neighboring states. It may or may not be a formally protected area. As shown in this chapter, despite increased interest, peace parks development and management are very uneven. With a specific focus on Southern Africa, the chapter argues that for better outcomes, planners must, among other things, put local people’s interests ahead of conversation goals, embrace and learn from failures, and resist the urge to exaggerate successes.
