ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape World Heritage Site (MCLWHS) as a national and World Heritage Site, national park, and Transfrontier Conservation Area (TFCA) endowed with cultural and natural values. The broader Mapungubwe area covers Botswana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe and is characterized with long-established mixed and multiple land uses. The Stone Age and Iron Age sites, including the intangible values (spirituality and scaredness) of the Venda communities, define the cultural values of MCLWHS. Only Iron Age sites justify the outstanding universal value (OUV) of MCLWHS. The scenic landscapes, unique ecological systems, and biodiversity define the nature values of the park. Both the cultural and natural values constitute the TFCA and define management authorities and options thereof for the site. MCLWHS illustrates a long-established exclusionary management approach that marginalizes stakeholders, in particular the indigenous and descendant communities. All stakeholders are reduced to a Park Forum structure consulted on a needs basis.
