Livelihoods

Conservancies

The generation of income for conservancies and individual members through the conservation of natural resources is a key aim of CBNRM and the success of conservation efforts by communities. Given Namibia’s attraction as a wildlife and landscape destination on the global tourism market, and its sustainable use policies supporting conservation hunting, the CBNRM programme has successfully facilitated income generation from wildlife-based activities for a multitude of conservancies through partnerships.

This is achieved through strategic joint venture (JV) collaborations with the private sector, leveraging their expertise, resources and market access to optimise wildlife-based enterprises for the improvement of local communities and conservation.

Efforts to unlock income and livelihoods opportunities for conservancies and their members have always been vital to sustaining the wildlife economy model in rural communities. This has become even more critical since the COVID-19 pandemic impacted global tourism, resulting in significant income and funding losses for conservancies and the communities they support, placing already vulnerable communities at greater risk.

The Business, Enterprise, and Livelihoods Working Group (BEL WG) is a voluntary working group of business and enterprise development specialists from non-governmental organisations (NGO) and government ministries that work collectively to support conservancies and communities in Namibia to develop and improve business enterprises. The BEL WG comprises a loose alliance of smaller sub-groups which each focus on different enterprise sectors or opportunities (tourism, joint ventures, small and medium enterprises, hunting and natural products).

Community Forests

The people living within a community forest have the right to use the plant resources within the forest, provided they follow the guidelines within the Forest Management Plan. This Plan includes Conditions of Use, which outline what plant resources members and non-members of the Community Forest can use, provided they obtain the necessary permission (e.g. timber harvesting requires payment for permits).

Besides income from permits, community forests may develop livelihood projects for their members with their own or donor funding, several of which reduce their members’ reliance on timber products and thus reduce the pressure on their forests. These include brick-making (to reduce the need for wooden poles for construction), agricultural cooperatives, processing non-timber forest products to add value, and bush thinning projects, among others.

Community Fisheries Reserves

Freshwater fish are an important part of the diets of people living in north-eastern Namibia (especially if crops fail), an additional source of income, and as part of cultural and social activities. Fish provide protein and micronutrients that are not otherwise easily obtainable for subsistence farmers, thus reducing the prevalence of malnutrition. Research has shown that fish was consumed almost daily 20-30 years ago, but only once a week in recent years.

This resource is under threat due to overfishing, as it is increasingly being exploited for commercial rather than subsistence purposes. Commercial fishers often come from elsewhere (other parts of the country or even other countries) and will move on to other rivers when fish stocks are depleted. Furthermore, the use of monofilament nets quickly results in overfishing, as they are three times more efficient in catching fish than multifilament gillnets (using monofilament nets is illegal in Namibia). Granting local people the rights to prevent or restrict fishing in certain key parts of the river and prevent the use of damaging fishing gear will thus sustain the long-term use of fish resources for local communities.

Recreational catch-and-release fishing is offered as an activity by lodges in this part of Namibia, which may contribute directly or indirectly to rural livelihoods through payment for fishing licenses or employment. Fishing tourism stands to benefit from the presence of fisheries reserves, as more mature fish will be available to tourist fishers. With a formally established reserve, the community can generate income through fishing permits and agreements with local operators that facilitate recreational fishing.

2022: Business and Livelihoods at a Glance

60 joint-venture tourism enterprises with 866 full time and 22 part time employees
44 conservation hunting concessions with 127 full time and 163 part time employees
44 small/medium enterprises with full time and part time employees
1056 conservancy employees
989 conservancy representatives receiving allowances
Conservancies generated total cash income and in-kind benefits to rural communities of N$140,254,009 in 2022. Of this:
- conservation hunting generated N$34,828,377;
- tourism generated N$92,399,594;
- indigenous plants N$1,270,597, and
- other income generated N$3,169,738
Conservancy residents earned a total cash income from enterprise wages:
- Of which N$47,945,942 was from joint venture tourism, N$24,615,862 from conservancies, N$2,739,628 from conservation hunting
317,989 kg of game meat worth N$8,585,703 was distributed to conservancy residents
N$19,562,954 in cash benefits was distributed to conservancy residents and used to support community projects

What’s New in 2022

CRRRF

The Conservation Relief, Recovery and Resilience Facility (CRRRF) extended business continuity grants to cover business expenses to prepare for the expected increase in tourism numbers, including the upgrading of infrastructure. These grants, given to 11 JV partners, are repayable, non-interest loans totaling N$ 8.25 million.

Joint Management Area (JMA)

The JMA between the Uibasen Twyfelfonetein, Doro!Nawas, and Sorris Sorris conservancies, the first of its kind in the region, aims to control access to the area of almost 279 km 2 and establish it as an exclusive wildlife habitat, dedicated solely to non-consumptive wildlife utilisation. The partnership agreement was signed in 2018 and has been supported by the Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF) and the Save the Rhino Trust (SRT). In 2022, the NNF continued to assist the three conservancies to achieve milestones to generate greater economic gains for the JMA through the development of sustainable wildlife-based tourism. After an exclusive tourism leasehold application was submitted, the JMA entered into a short-term tourism contract to establish a temporary rhino tracking camp. The JMA committee was also established with three representatives from each conservancy.

Alternative Income Opportunities Support

The Community Conservation Fund of Namibia (CCFN) introduced a new objective to its Poverty Oriented Support to Community Conservation in Namibia project in 2022. Funding provided by the KfW Development Bank will provide grants for investment in alternative income-generating activities in conservancies and community forests. The purpose of these grants is to build resilience against external shocks that have a direct impact on tourism-related income streams. By the end of 2022, applications were evaluated, site visits conducted, and ten projects received provisional approval.

Zambezi Tourism Workshop

The Zambezi Joint Venture Tourism Meeting was held in September 2022 and attended by MEFT, conservancies, Traditional Authorities, joint venture (JV) operators and NACSO partner organisations. The main aim of the meetings was to provide a platform where stakeholders could reflect and deliberate on issues pertaining to the management and operations of tourism in the Zambezi Region pre- and post- the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting provided the opportunity for all partners to work together, discuss recovery from the pandemic and make recommendations.

Wildlife Credits

In recent years, the CBNRM programme has been piloting the Wildlife Credits initiative, designed to pay conservancies for verified conservation achievements. One of the major challenges was the streamlining of data processing from diverse sources, requiring scalability and automation for maximal efficiency. In collaboration with Deloitte Germany, who generously provided pro-bono support, an efficient data processing system was developed. Deloitte also integrated artificial intelligence-powered capabilities to analyse camera trap images for wildlife sightings and satellite images to detect human settlement, and cropping in wildlife zones and corridors. This data helps to calculate conservation performance payments. The result is a dynamic dashboard that provides conservation metrics and values, facilitating informed decision-making when making performance payments to the conservancies.

Total returns to conservancies and members excluding relief grants. This includes all directly measurable income and in-kind benefits being generated, and can be divided into cash income to conservancies including the Kyaramacan Association (mostly through partnerships with private sector operators), cash income to residents from enterprises (mostly through employment and the sale of products), and as in-kind benefits to residents (mostly the distribution of harvested game meat)

The total cash income and in-kind benefits generated in conservancies (including the Kyaramacan Association) grew from less than N$ 1 million in 1998 to over N$ 150 million in 2019 but shrank significantly in 2020 and 2021. This includes all directly measurable income and inkind benefits being generated, and can be divided into cash income to conservancies including the Kyaramacan Association (mostly through partnerships with private sector operators), cash income to residents from enterprises (mostly through employment and the sale of products), and as in-kind benefits to residents (mostly the distribution of harvested game meat). Relief grants are excluded.

Partial Namibian Tourism Recovery

Namibia saw a 98.1% increase in international / inbound tourist arrivals from 232,756 in 2021 to 461,027 in 2022, indicating a 28.9% recovery level towards the 2019 tourist arrival statistics. However, while several JV partners have reported a significant recovery in 2022, and tourism in Namibia is on a positive trajectory, the previous reliance solely on tourism and conservation hunting in conservancies is no longer guaranteed.

Joint Venture Tourism Recovery

Joint venture (JV) partners faced huge impacts during the pandemic, some having to completely close down operations, and many had to consider the retrenchment of staff, including those hired from conservancies. The immediate concern with retrenchment was the socioeconomic impact on individuals and households dependent on their salaries. One JV partner undertook an in-house poll and determined that the average number of dependants per staff member salary increased from three or four to ten during the pandemic. The secondary concern was the loss of skills and experience, which would have an impact when the pandemic ended, and the staff was needed again. Without the continued and expanded support of the Conservation Relief, Recovery and Resilience Facility (CRRRF), JV partners and their staff from conservancies would have experienced much more intense social and economic impacts.

In 2022, a significant number of conservancies were still not able to generate substantial income from JV operations to JOINT VENTURE TOURISM RECOVERY cover their conservation management costs, which necessitated continued grant assistance from the CRRRF. The CRRRF, led by the MEFT with its collaborating partners and donors, was established to provide financial relief and recovery backing to conservancies and their members in dealing with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. This support included operational support to conservancies, as well as local wage relief and business continuity grants to JV partners.

While joint venture tourism and hunting partnerships will always remain vital for the sustainability of conservancies, the need to diversify livelihoods and income sources within conservancies has never been greater. Business models are being re-examined and there is a strong push to create additional opportunities beyond the current JV tourism and hunting options. This re-examination aims to create opportunities for local entrepreneurs to derive benefits from pro-conservation enterprises that extend beyond traditional JV partnerships.

The Economics Of Conservancies

The main sources of economic returns for communal conservancies relate to international tourist arrivals, either directly or indirectly. Photographic tourism, conservation hunting and craft industries are all largely reliant on international customers. As the global tourism industry continued to recover in 2022, Namibia saw increased returns for conservancies. This year, the total returns (income and benefits) from conservancies came to just over N$ 140 million. This is the highest level since 2019.

Conservancies’ collaboration with JV tourism and conservation hunting partners plays a crucial role in generating local economic returns, including conservancy fees that are used to cover conservation management costs and development projects. These partnerships create essential job opportunities for THE ECONOMICS OF CONSERVANCIES local community members and non-monetary benefits like meat from hunting which is highly valued. JV partnerships also contribute directly to social and developmental projects within the conservancies, through both cash and in-kind contributions.

Conservancies utilise cash income from diverse sources to fund various operational expenses, including the salaries of conservancy office and field staff responsible for natural resource monitoring, human wildlife conflict mitigation and wildlife crime prevention. Within conservancies, benefit distribution plans allocate a portion of their budgets for social initiatives, cash disbursements to members and additional social support needs such as scholarships. Some of the conservancies also allocate funds to address human wildlife conflict incidents through the Human Wildlife Conflict Self-Reliance Scheme.

There is an understandable emphasis on the tangible economic advantages that conservancies bring their members, yet equally noteworthy are the intangible benefits that the conservancy movement can offer. These include safeguarding of the environment, strategies for climate change resilience, cultural pride intertwined with conservation, the emergence of civil society structures in areas lacking them, and a sense of empowerment in assuming responsibility for natural resources. The rights granted to local communities over their natural resources can also create opportunities for capacity-building, skills enhancement and local leadership capacity. The CBNRM programme therefore, not only supports rural economic progression, but also catalyses social transformation, bolsters environmental sustainability, including climate change adaptation, and champions good governance, all pillars of the National Development Plan.

Buffering livelihoods against the impact of COVID-19

The main sources of returns for communal conservancies relate to international arrivals, either directly or indirectly. Photographic tourism, conservation hunting, and craft industries are all reliant on international customers. Global travel restrictions and closed borders thus had a huge impact on the ability of conservancies and their members to generate economic returns. Consequently, conservancy cash and in-kind benefits nearly halved in 2020 compared to 2019. The impact would have been much greater without financial assistance from the Conservation Relief, Recovery, and Resilience Facility (CRRRF).

New in 2021

Business Planning

The NACSO BELWG is facilitating the Business and Financial Sustainability Plans (BFSP) to targeted conservancies. The process identifies the business opportunities of the conservancy, as well as conducting the financial planning of their longterm costs and investments. Conservancies are assisted in developing five-year plans that align income opportunities with the expenditure needs. BFSP can be used to build resilience, i.e., to set aside current year funds for the following year and thereby build a buffer. With these plans in place, conservancies will know where they stand in terms of finances and where they would like to be in the future. A behavioural change can also be observed on how conservancies allocate, use, and reserve their funds, while building resistance to shocks.

For example, Wuparo conservancy’s BFSP was approved at their AGM, and at the end of their financial year, they used the tracking tool to assess whether their performance was within the targets. Currently 26 conservancies are using the BFSPs. However more work needs to be done to get more income earning conservancies to implement these plans.

Tourism Resilience

COVID-19 highlighted the need for a stable local tourism market. Several conservancies’ joint venture lodges worked to develop a foothold in the local market by offering specials to attract Namibian and SADC residents. For example, Gondwana Collection, Wild Waters, and Ultimate Safaris are three of several tourism operators that tapped into the local market and created packages that would match the Namibian public’s desire to explore within their financial means. This was a great way to continue operations and retain jobs in joint venture lodges while giving Namibians an opportunity to explore community conservation tourism establishments.

Homegrown

The Homegrown product is a new initiative that encourages travellers to experience communal conservancies through the eyes of local guides and community members. The premise of Homegrown is to develop a new market for local conservancybased tour guides and provide training that ensures the safety of guests and community members alike in the post-COVID-19 world. Although Homegrown’s pilot project was stalled due to funding, there are plans to revive the initiative.

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Collaboration

The work of the Conservation Relief Recovery Resilience Facility (CRRRF) led by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism is a great example of collaboration between stakeholders, which rallied support for the communal conservancies when COVID struck. This facility contributed by providing relief to conservancies in the form of grants to the CBNRM program. CRRRF also proved to be an opportunity to share skills, build capacities, grow networks, save costs, and share workloads at various levels during a challenging time.

Going forward, the diversification of income streams will be key to the continued success of conservancies and the wildlife economy model. Conservancies need to rethink the reliance on tourism and hunting as primary income sources and re-examine the impact of conservation on their livelihoods. For example, building smaller economies at a local level and creating macroeconomic businesses that integrate sustainable practices could have an impact in conservancies that isn’t reliant on global travel. Participation in approaches such as Wildlife Credits also provides income at a conservancy and/or individual level, rewarding wildlife stewards while at the same time reinforcing the importance of continued conservation efforts.

The total returns to conservancies are divided into cash income to conservancies including the Kyaramacan Association (mostly through partnerships with private sector operators), cash income to residents from enterprises (mostly through employment and the sale of products), and in-kind benefits to residents (mostly the distribution of harvested game meat). The cash payments to conservancies and their residents, and the monetised value of in-kind benefits increased in 2021 after a stark decrease in 2020, which indicates the resilience of the programme.