inspiration
This question has been asked and answered in some ways by the Transfrontier Conservation Areas of Africa. These are bordlerless, transnational wildlife reserves that connect protected natural habitats across politically drawn lines, dropping fences, literally and figuratively, in the pursuit of furthering conservation across the continent. This future- and forward-thinking initiative, embraced by numerous countries, links tracts of protected land together through cross-national collaboration, which furthers conservation by allowing nature to revert to what it was before humans ever intervened. The Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area spans five countries — Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe — and is home to the world’s
largest contiguous elephant population (roughly 220,000 to 250,000 African elephants). The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area spans South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe — a massive tract of nearly 100,000 square kilometres, encompassing private and communal lands, of which the Kruger National Park is a key component. But if these borders were abstract to begin with, why is this so important? The borders may have been constructed in theory, but the fences are real. They prevent animals from following ancient migration pathways, trodden into the earth long before man erected them. Their removal allows large mammals like elephants and zebras to traverse ancient seasonal grazing and watering paths without artificial fence lines,
Previous spread Transcending political boundaries in pursuit of a greater purpose, borderless parks prove the power of transnational collaboration. Above Removing fences allows migratory animals to resume ancient passageways.
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