Dunham, K.M., van der Westhuizen, E., van der Westhuizen, H.F. and Gandiwa, E. (2010) Aerial Survey of Elephants and Other Large Herbivores in Gonarezhou National Park (Zimbabwe), Zinave National Park (Mozambique) and Surrounds: 2009. Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, Harare.

has been cited by the following article:

• TITLE: Population Dynamics of Large Herbivores and the Framing of Wildlife Conservation in Zimbabwe

  AUTHORS: Edson Gandiwa

  KEYWORDS: Bottom-Up Control, Illegal Hunting, Law Enforcement, Media Framing, Top-Down Control

  JOURNAL NAME: Open Journal of Ecology, Vol.4 No.7, May 27, 2014

  ABSTRACT: This article reviews: 1) The role of natural and human-induced controls in influencing large herbivore populations; 2) how human controls (i.e., policy instruments, incentives and provisions) influence human activities and wildlife conservation; and 3) media framing of wildlife conservation using Zimbabwe as a case study, in particular Gonarezhou National Park and adjacent areas. The review shows that droughts are important in influencing large herbivore populations in semi-arid ecosystems; political instability and economic collapse does not necessarily lead to increased illegal hunting in situations where policy instruments, such as laws, are enforced. A higher perceived effectiveness of Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources was partly associated with a decline in human-wildlife conflicts and there was a spill-over effect of frames from the political domain into wildlife conservation following Zimbabwe’s land reforms in 2000. It is concluded that natural bottom-up processes (e.g., droughts) influence large herbivore population dynamics whereas policy instruments, incentives, provisions and societal frames mainly have a top-down effect on wild large herbivore populations in savanna ecosystems.