The transnational hybridisation of Mozambican nature
Abstract
This article looks at the relations between Mozambique and
transnational dynamics in nature conservation, and the
consequences in terms of identity and practice. More specifically,
it focuses on Mozambican nature as a political construct, its
evolution over time since the independence of Mozambique in
1975, its management during the war and its (re)creation into
‘pristine’ areas after 1992, which facilitated new forms of inclusion
in transnational networks and of disjunction at national level. We
argue that the shift from relative isolation to inclusion in
transnational networks (both regional – particularly South African
– and global) brought new ways to deal with nature. In particular,
it has radically transformed what was conceived as ‘nature’ and
thus what was worth protecting, managing and controlling.