Feasibility Study of Proposed Tourism Dev in Shewula, NE ...

Chapter 4 - Socio-Cultural Findings and Analysis
4.9. ANALYSIS OF THE COMMUNITY'S RESPONSES
4.9.1. An assessment of the general response trends
Overall, the general reactions recorded were primarily concerned with initiatives at
the immediate local level, i.e. the reserve and tourism development, and less so with
the Lubombo Conservancy. In general, these reactions appear to indicate that the
idea of establishing a reserve is problematic but that there is a qualified acceptance
of (and even some support for) the tourism development project. However, there is
not a significant level of broad-based community commitment to either of these
initiatives.
The positive reactions to the proposed tourism development could provide a
foundation on which further support for the project can be built, although at the same
time they could potentially result in high expectations, which may not be immediately
met or which might be unrealistically high.
Some of the negative reactions that have been documented by the study could also
be advantageous to the project, since they reflect real fears and doubts about the
costs and benefits of the project to the community. These reactions are an indication
that the community is aware of or will understand some of the pitfalls and problems
that have been encountered in other, similar, projects and which could very well be
associated with their own tourism development project. This is useful, since it allows
for forward planning in which anticipated negative impacts can be planned for and
mitigated against, while at the same time the expectations of potential benefits to be
derived from tourism development can be moderated and managed.
However, there are also some negative reactions which could be problematic for
the project. Some are based on misunderstandings or lack of information, and should
therefore be relatively easy to overcome, provided that the necessary clarity and
information is provided. Other negative reactions appear to be more deeply rooted,
and will require functional conflict resolution and management mechanisms if they
are hot to adversely affect the feasibility of the project. The sensitivity with which the
community's concerns are addressed and the degree to which intensely negative
reactions can be tempered, will therefore influence the ultimate feasibility of the
project.
In some ways it is the mixed reactions that are the most problematic for establishing
a tourism development, such as that proposed for the Shewula area. These
reactions, which appear to be predominant in the Shewula Community at present,
result in the problem of inertia that is a constraint encountered in many spheres of
development. The ambivalence of these responses is understandable, since the
benefits that such developments promise are enticing but they are accompanied by
costs and a fear of the unknown which prevents people from taking action, or
becoming involved in such a project. If the proposed development is to gain the
support of the people, then it must be demonstrated that the benefits of the project
for the community will outweigh the costs that will be incurred by the community. This
creates a situation in which the support necessary for the success of the project
depends on the project demonstrating its success.
This situation is far from ideal. There are, however, a number of ways in which this
situation can be overcome. One of these is by encouraging learning from
experiences in other similar projects, which can demonstrate the possibilities of
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