African Indaba Articles - wildlife-baldus.com

Mulilo. About 78,000 people of more than six ethnic groups live in East and West Caprivi, the majority ofwhom practise subsistence agriculture, with some cash cropping, and depend on trees, wild fruits, fish, waterlilies, reeds and grasses for food, grazing, shelter, fuel and farming implements. Only 15% of the populationlive in the main town of Katima Mulilo. Four main languages are spoken, with Lozi the most dominant; 4%speak Bushman (San) languages, principally Khwe. The 4,000 Khwe people live in ten villages of WestCaprivi within Bwabwata National Park between Divundu and Kongola. The Khwe form the large majority ofthe population. Other population groups are the !Kung and Hambukushu. Not long ago, Ben Ngobara waselected as the new Khwe Chief in a democratic election recognized by the Namibian Government, assuccessor to the late Kippi George. Subsequently, the members of the community established theKyaramacan Residents’ Trust with ten community representatives serving on the board.Parks, People and WildlifeAntiquated protected area management is linked to colonialism and imposed foreign cultural norms.Strategies have relied heavily on measures to keep out people. Local people were considered a threat towildlife. The establishment of protected areas all over Africa severely affected the livelihoods and integrity ofresident peoples and still continues to do so. These negative effects severely eroded local support forprotected areas. With a unique innovative approach the Namibian Ministry of Environment & Tourismchanged the status of the Bwabwata National Park. This allows the communities living there to draw benefitsfrom wildlife and tourism in the park in line with the conceptual framework of the Namibian conservancyprogram. The result shows the “Parks and Neighbors” concept in action where protected areas stimulateregional and local development through a combination of sustainable extractive and non-extractive useoptions. The enlightened policy of the Namibian Government thus created a positive community attitudetowards Bwabwata National Park.The program is a partnership between MET, the Namibian Association ofCBNRM Support Organizations (NACSO), IRDNC, NNF, WWF, and a variety of conservation anddevelopment NGOs as well as established and emerging conservancy committees. Funding has beenobtained from USAID, WWF and the Namibian Government. The program is active throughout theconservancy areas of Namibia. The communities’ response to the acquisition of rights over wildlife has beenreflected by wildlife husbanding efforts that have reversed downward population trends and precipitatedunprecedented wildlife recoveries across northern communal areas.The award of the Buffalo and Kwandoconcessions to hunting safari operators by the Kyaramacan Association is, however, THE ground-breakingevent the Khwe have been waiting for since 1990. Now they receive their first benefits from the Park’swildlife resources.94