Community conservation grew out of the recognition that wildlife and other natural resources are of value in communal areas, and that these resources can be unlocked if local communities are empowered to manage and utilise resources themselves.
Communities
Living with wildlife – sustainably
By choosing to live with wildlife, rural communities are broadening their livelihood options as well as enabling a healthier environment.
Community conservation in Namibia means rural people managing their natural resources sustainably to generate returns. Conservancies, community forests and other community conservation initiatives create the necessary legal framework for this.
Conservancy chairperson Judy Melekie
//Huab Conservancy in Kunene Region is close to the tourism routes and has income from a joint venture with a lodge, and from conservation hunting.
“As a woman,” says Melekie, “we sometimes underestimate our strength.” Empowering women in rural communities is very much part of the conservation agenda. Melekie says that she has managed to build up the conservancy finances and to employ the first female game guard at //Huab. Under her chairpersonship a mobile campsite has been set up and the conservancy won a best practice award for the protection of rhino.
Drought and wildlife crime are the two major dangers for //Huab, but Melekie is confident that with income from conservation hunting the conservancy will be able to keep up its anti-poaching patrols and to maintain its wildlife.
» Read more about women in leadership.
Conservancy chairperson Abedi Kaiko
Otjombinde Conservancy is in Omaheke Region, bordering Botswana. It is an area of sparse vegetation close to the Kalahari Desert, that can support limited livestock. Kaiko says there is “a lot to be done”.
The first challenge is setting up an office. From there, Kaiko wants to build up conservation awareness in the community to conserve what is there for future generations. Part of that work will be to demarcate a core wildlife area.
Meeting with other conservancy chairpersons at a national level in the Conservancy Chairpersons’ Forum was very valuable to Kaiko. He learnt from others about the importance of financial management. Otjombinde does not have a great deal of wildlife, but the conservancy makes common cause with others to oppose potential bans on conservation hunting, because this brings income that can be used for conservation, leading to sustainable wildlife populations.
Conservancy manager Hilde Nathinge
Sheya Shuushona Conservancy lies directly north of Etosha National Park. It has a limited income due to the lack of tourism, although a joint-venture with a private sector lodge is planned.
Nathinge is proud of the conservancy’s record of compliance with the MEFT’s Standard Operating Procedures. “Everything is in order,” she says.
In the past, says Nathinge, women had no say in decision making. All that has changed. She compiles the financial and annual reports, and manages the staff, including game guards, who she calls “the backbone of the conservancy.”
The founding President came from the area, and Nathinge says that the spirit of liberation is still alive. “If we keep working hard we will see the fruits of our labour.”
» Read more about women in leadership.
Conservancy manager Emil Roman
Torra is a large conservancy in the semi-desert area of Kunene Region, with income from tourism and conservation hunting. Its people are spread over a wide area: a challenge for conservancy management, which the management committee have addressed by dividing the conservancy into blocks, which hold regular meetings.
Roman say he “knows what is happening” in the conservancy, enabling him to give advice to the committee on a monthly basis.
The challenges are the low level of literacy in the community, and that conservancy members do not know their rights. He sees his job as enabling community empowerment, especially of women, by persuading them to stand for election to the committee and to take on management jobs.
Roman says: “It’s tough being a manager but the recognition I get from staff and the committee members on my performance is rewarding”.
Game guard Kennedy Muituti
There are 12 game guards at Bamunu conservancy in Zambezi region, including two women. Chief game guard Muituti says it’s a tough job patrolling long tracks along the Linyanti River on the Botswana border. Part of the work is talking to farmers about conservation, and advising them to inform on suspicious activity. Poachers pass through from Zambia, hunting for ivory in Botswana. But Muituti and his team love the work – and success. Working together with the MEFT and the Namibian Police, they have twice netted international poaching gangs.
Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT)
Our vision: “To be a leader in conservation and tourism development through innovation and partnership”
Foreword of the State of Community Conservation 2022 Report
by Honourable Pohamba Shifeta, Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism
Namibia’s Community Based Natural Resource Management Programme is one model that provides rural communities with incentives to manage their natural resources. The programme further unlocks enormous tourism development opportunities and benefits from the sustainable use of wildlife. It has grown remarkably since the gazetting of the first communal conservancy in 1998. There are now eighty-six (86) registered Communal Conservancies, forty-six (46) Community Forests and two (2) Community Associations in Namibia.
The tourism sector saw a good recovery in 2022 and although it hasn’t reached pre-COVID-19 levels, it was promising. Namibia saw a 98.1% increase in international / inbound tourist arrivals from 232,756 in 2021 to 461,027 in 2022. This figure indicates a 28.9% recovery level towards the 2019 tourist arrival statistics. The United Nations World Trade Organization reports that the global international arrivals increased by 102% in 2022 over 2021 but remained 37% below 2019 figures.
In 2022, some conservancies earned income from tourism and conservation hunting, but most conservancies and community forests still received Conservation Relief, Recovery and Resilience Facility (CRRRF) support to ensure management and operations could continue and that jobs were retained. While there is recovery, the pandemic has highlighted the need to further diversify income streams for conservancies. This challenge will inform how the CBNRM programme moves forward.
During the pandemic, the normal functioning of conservancies and community forests was impacted, however, important governance standards still had to be met. In 2022, with restrictions on meetings lifted, 94% of reporting conservancies were able to hold their annual general meetings (AGM) to conduct the critical business of managing their organisations and their natural resources. The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) requirements for conservancies, which include AGMs, elections, annual financial reports, benefit distribution reports and game management and utilisation reports, were fully met by 49 conservancies.
Although Namibia received better rainfall in some areas in 2022, the prolonged drought in the Kunene Region and drought in other areas, continues to impact the country and in particular, rural communities with limited options and resilience. The role of CBNRM is more important to rural adaptation strategies than ever, as the impacts of climate change require constant adaptation to increase resilience in communities.
Human wildlife conflict remains a challenge in a number of conservancies. It is crucial to have mechanisms in place to reduce the level of human wildlife conflict, to ensure that the benefits of conservation management far outweigh the costs, and to build on the significant successes we have had in managing human wildlife conflict. A total of just over N$ 9.27 million was used to offset the costs for crop damage, livestock loss, human injuries and loss of life. These losses to human wildlife conflict highlight the importance of continuing to mitigate the impacts on communities and families.
In 2022, Namibia was once again able to share its progress in CBNRM with the global conservation community. The Namibian government and CBRNM support organisations participated in three important conservation events in 2022: the inaugural International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Africa Protected and Conserved Areas Congress (APAC) in Rwanda in July, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Conference of the Parties (COP) 19 in Panama in November and the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Conference of the Parties (COP 15) in Canada in December. The outcomes of these events will help guide Namibia in strengthening its protected and conserved areas and meet international biodiversity conservation targets and goals.
Within Namibia, the Annual Conservancy and Community Forests’s Chairpersons Forums took place. These are platforms for the chairpersons of communal conservancies and community forests to dialogue with the Minister of Environment Forestry and Tourism (MEFT), Regional Councils and Governors, leadership of support CSOs, various CBNRM technical staff and with each other. These forums provide an opportunity for chairpersons to reflect on activities during the year by highlighting key achievements, challenges, and lessons learned, and to allow the group to work together on common solutions. In the past, the Forum was a single event for all conservancies and community forests throughout the country. However, due to COVID-19 restrictions and budgetary constraints, this larger forum has been sub-divided into regional clusters – North Central, South, Northeast, Northwest and Central regions. In 2022, these regional cluster forums were collectively well attended by 446 participants, 26% of whom were women. This new regional format allows conservancies and community forests the opportunity to focus on regional issues, to continue to build relationships with all stakeholders, reflect on progress and adapt to meet the needs of their members.
In conclusion, our objectives of empowering our communities, especially rural communities, cannot be achieved by Government alone, therefore, I would like to express my gratitude to our regional office staff members, field-based support organisations, development partners and the private sector for the support they continue to render to communal conservancies and community forests in throughout the country.
Namibian Association of Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) Support Organisations
Our vision: “NACSO connects the communities and organisations that manage and conserve Namibia’s natural resources”
Introduction to the State of Community Conservation 2022 Report
by Mr Ronny Dempers, NACSO Chairperson
2022 was a year of recovery from both the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and from drought in parts of Namibia. Unfortunately, the drought continues unabated in certain areas of the country, impacting livelihoods, wildlife and grazing. While recovery of the tourism industry is underway, it still has not returned to pre-COVID-19 levels. Conservancies, the Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organisation (NACSO) partner organisations and the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) are also recovering, but within a new paradigm.
The initiative and innovation with which the entire CBNRM programme responded to the COVID-19 crisis was exemplary. Important conservancy operations, including anti-poaching efforts, and individual jobs and partnerships with the private sector were maintained with huge support from all levels within Namibia through national and international financial support. It is important to acknowledge the significant achievements made during the past couple of challenging years, to appreciate the progress made despite hardships and to capitalise on lessons learned. It is also clear from our experience that there is a need for the CBNRM programme to engage in deeper reflection.
Our focus now is to reconnect on the issues which need reevaluation, at all levels, from community, to implementation to policy levels, and use the process to reposition the programme and leverage new opportunities. This will take a concerted effort from community-based organisations (CBO), nongovernmental organisations (NGO) and government to diversify income streams, generate increased benefits to members, address governance challenges, and create more resilience in conservancies and communities, while also ensuring the sustainability of conservation efforts.
Some of the clear lessons are a need to strengthen service provision to CBOs by acknowledging the growth that has taken place and adjusting our support accordingly. We cannot continue with business as usual. There is a need to continue to work with both emerging and long-standing CBOs while applying the same compliance requirements. This will also enable us to address long-term, high impact issues such as poverty, climate change and drought, while also focusing on the voices and participation of marginalised groups, including women and youth. The need to sustain critical support to conservancies, community forests and other community-based institutions remains critical. NACSO participated this year in actions aimed at strengthening its engagement with the Community Conservation Fund of Namibia (CCFN) which will remain important as we consolidate efforts to ensure long-term endowment funds to secure critical support services.
We are all certainly up to the challenge, given what we have already achieved, but change can be difficult. Introspection, tenacity and transformation will be required for the process, but will also see us to a position of new strength and ability to contribute more effectively to the cause of CBNRM in Namibia and in Southern Africa.
As part of this reflective process, NACSO and some of its members embarked on developing and finalising new strategic plans over the course of 2022. These new strategies will provide the roadmaps for organisations to adapt to and meet the needs of post-COVID-19 communities and their conservation efforts.
NACSO, as the coordinating body for CBNRM support organisations, continues to build key partnerships with the aim of strengthening community voices. Towards this, NACSO became a member of the African Civil Society Biodiversity Alliance (ACBA) and our participation within ACBA provides a platform to engage with other African civil society organisations to share and learn about CBNRM and its diversity on the African continent. ACBA also created opportunities for NACSO to participate at various levels in the Convention on Biological Diversity working groups. NACSO is now formally represented on two CITES membership working groups – the Engagement of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC) Working Group and the Livelihoods Working Group.
Another major achievement for NACSO was its election by the Community Leaders Network of Southern Africa (CLN) board to serve as the Secretariat for CLN. An agreement was signed with Resource Africa South Africa to support and capacitate the CLN Secretariat. The CLN Secretariat and its members have been a strong voice for Southern Africa, especially on community rights and sustainable use issues.
Although we face challenges and need to engage in an honest and robust stock-taking as both individual organisations and as a collective, these are opportunities to build new foundations, to improve and to better meet the needs of communities. We adapt so that communities can benefit and build resilience, and so we can improve the lives of rural Namibians working hard to conserve their wildlife and other natural resources.
