Fragmented Governance, Shared Landscapes: Policy and Functional (In)Coherence Insights from the Great Limpopo...

Area of Science:

• Conservation Science
• Environmental Policy
• Transboundary Governance

Background:

• Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs) face persistent challenges in policy coherence and practical coordination.
• The gap between national policies and on-the-ground operations in TFCAs requires in-depth assessment.
• Policy and functional coherence in TFCAs remain underexplored research areas.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine policy and functional coherence between Kruger and Gonarezhou National Parks within the Greater Limpopo TFCA (GLTFCA).
• To assess the alignment across functional policy domains using a theme-based coding method.
• To identify implementation gaps and coordination challenges within TFCAs.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative comparative analysis of strategic park policy documents.
• Twenty key informant interviews were conducted.
• Theme-based coding was applied to assess policy domain alignment.

Main Results:

• Moderate overall policy alignment (3.6/5) was found, with strong coherence in areas aligned with international norms.
• Weak coherence was observed in governance, institutional efficiency, and transboundary cooperation themes.
• Implementation gaps and fragmented accountability were identified as key weaknesses.

Conclusions:

• Aligning policy intent in TFCAs is insufficient without addressing functional coherence.
• Disparities in power, institutional capacity, legal pluralism, and coordination mechanisms hinder functional coherence.
• Greater attention to political, institutional, and legal asymmetries is needed for effective TFCA operations.