| Summary: | Includes bibliographical references. === This study uses bioregionalism and bordering as a lens for understanding the construction of Mapungubwe as a transfrontier conservation area and the effects of that process on biodiversity, the local economy and local communities. The main assumption underlying the study is that transfrontier conservation areas are founded on principles of bioregionalism. The study is motivated by three main claims that are advanced in support of the establishment of bioregions across international borders, namely, that transfrontier conservation areas enhance biodiversity, promote economic development and improve the livelihoods of local communities. Whereas research by ecologists and conservation biologists provide scientific data on which transfrontier conservation areas are anchored, social science research has criticized these areas for neglecting, marginalizing and disempowering local communities. The nascent body of literature on transfrontier conservation is yet to clarify how transfrontier conservation areas are created as bioregions. This study pays attention to this process; concentrating on the change in land use that transpired to encourage the construction of a bioregion, and the outcome of this process on biodiversity, the local economy and local communities. It is essential to understand the bioregional process because any outcome from, or consequences of transfrontier conservation areas, hinges on that process. The study uses theoretical insights from bodies of work on bioregionalism and border studies to identify aspects of bioregionalism that support the creation of transfrontier conservation areas. These areas are a product of a conservation planning paradigm that embraces bioregion at a larger scale as opposed to a bioregionalist social movement that encourages bioregionalism at a smaller scale. As with all types of regions, bioregions are not prearranged, but are rather socially constructed in both biophysical and social settings. This is made possible through the establishment of conservation corridors that connect patches of various land use activities across international borders.
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