State of Conservancy update booklet 2006

Namibia's communal conservancies: a review of progress in 2006

Introduction

Context and background

Over the last fifteen years Community-based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) has proved to be an important mechanism for the Namibian Government to meet its goals of sustainable development. CBNRM is based on the understanding that if resources have sufficient value to local people, and allow for exclusive rights of use, benefit and management, then this policy environment can create appropriate incentives for people to use resources sustainably. Through innovative legislation rights have been devolved to local residents with particular regard to wildlife, water and forest resources.

In 1996, the Ministry of Environment & Tourism (MET) introduced legislation that gave conditional use rights over wildlife to communities in communal areas that formed a management unit called a conservancy. Since then many local communities have embraced this opportunity tomanage their own wildlife and tourism activities, and communal area conservancies are now found in nearly all regions of the country. The conservancy approach has proven effective as a conservation strategy as can be seen by the increase in wildlife in many of our country's communal areas. It has also proven effective as a rural development strategy, generating income for local communities, bringing new jobs, and providing new skills and expertise.

This publication demonstrates the impressive results of CBNRM in the wildlife and tourism sector. It forms the fourth in a series of publications on the progress and challenges of Namibia's communal area conservancies. The initial book provided information up to 2003, a second booklet provided data for 2004, whilst a third book provided information up to 2005. This fourth booklet updates information on communal conservancies up to the end of 2006. Whilst this document focuses on the achievements of CBNRM in relation to wildlife and tourism, it also includes information on the 13 registered community forests in Namibia.

This report recognises the support provided by the MET in collaboration with its partners in developing and implementing the conservancy approach in Namibia. These partners include communal conservancies themselves, the members of Namibia Association of CBNRM support Organisations (NACSO), a broad range of donors and private sector tourism partners.

Figure 1. Income from the overall CBNRM programme grew from nothing in 1994 to over N$26 million in 2006.The incomes are shown in two categories: income to conservancies and income to CBNRM activities outside conservancies.

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