Growing the Wealth of the Poor - World Resources Institute

UPDATE: NAMIBIAGROWTH IN COMMUNAL CONSERVANCIES, 1998-2005TOTAL LAND AREA UNDER MANAGEMENTSquare kilometers120,000100,00080,00060,00040,00020,000POPULATION LIVING IN CONSERVANCY AREASNumber of people250,000200,000150,000100,00050,00001998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005Source: NACSO 2006: 1201998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005The organic development of NACSO has allowed it to addressthe evolving challenges faced by communities. Over time,NACSO has worked to build ownership around wildlife managementin Namibia’s conservancies. This in turn has supportedthe development of local governance, as well as building theskills and capacities needed to manage wildlife productively forthe benefit of the community.Alongside NACSO’s evolution, the Namibia Community-BasedTourism Association has represented and supported thecommunity tourism enterprises sprouting up within conservancies.Currently there are 108 such conservancy-ownedenterprises working solely within the conservancy boundaries,with varying levels of success (WWF et al. 2007:92–93).NACOBTA has worked to improve local business skills and, withits membership in NACSO and engagement with the NamibianINCOME FROM CONSERVANCIES AND OTHER COMMUNITY-BASED NATURALRESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN NAMIBIA, 1994-2005Million Namibian dollars252015105government, has also helped bridge the gap between nationalpolicy and local needs.Funding and facilitating the work of NACSO have been anumber of international partners, such as the United StatesAgency for International Development (USAID) and the WorldWildlife Fund (WWF). From the beginning, these organizationshave been crucial in supporting governance innovations such asthe Nature Conservation Act, which provided the legal foundationfor the conservancy program, and in providing guidance onestablishing community-based wildlife management enterprises(NACSO 2006:15, 19, 55). They have also been veryeffective at documenting the Namibian conservancy movementand advertising it within the international development communityas a model for sustainable environmental management andrural development. This has both strengthened the politicalposition of the conservancy programIncome from CBNRMactivities outside ofconservanciesNon-case income toconservanciesCash income toconservancieswithin the Namibian government andhelped it gain the necessary financialresources from other internationaldonors to cover the considerablestartup costs of new conservancies.One downside to the current fundingformula is that it has created a certaindegree of dependence on externaldonors, whose funding levels are nowdeclining. This challenges the NACSOorganizations to develop alternatefunding sources so that they cancontinue their current level of supportto conservancies (Jones 2008).3401994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005Source: NACSO 2006: 45