Using scenario planning for stakeholder engagement in livelihood futures in the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area

Scenario planning has gained prominence among conservationists and policy-makers as a tool for planning, forecasting and learning about the future. This paper explores how participatory scenario planning was applied as a tool for promoting stakeholder engagement on discussions of desired livelihood futures. The study was conducted in Sengwe Communal lands, an area that falls within the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (GLTFCA). Data collection was based on semi-structured interviews, document reviews, focus group discussions and scenario workshops. Future desirable livelihoods that emerged include tourism enterprise development, small-scale irrigation, wildlife and livestock improvement, and energy generation. Development options imagined by locals are inseparable from contemporary politics of transfrontier conservation area governance requiring researchers to shift roles from being catalysts and knowledge brokers to facilitators of learning and negotiation. This paper contributes to contemporary debates on novel approaches to promote engagement with communities for improving biodiversity conservation and livelihoods in emerging transfrontier conservation areas.