Planning education to care for the earth - IUCN Knowledge Network

Planning education to care for the earthConsultation and decision-making take place at the village, ward and districtlevels - a process which develops understanding of the importance ofwildlife and habitats.When communities have responsibility for their own natural resources andthe freedom to use and benefit from them, there is a need for leadership, bothcivic and cultural. In cultural terms, CAMPFIRE encourages respect forknowledge handed down from one generation to another. In Zimbabwe,plants of medicinal value, for example, are not cut at random; they arecommunity assets in the same way as figs and other wild fruits which havevalue as food. CAMPFIRE has links with the traditional leadership to ensurethat this wisdom is not lost. Similarly, the knowledge that people of certaintotems - elephant, zebra, for example - do not eat the meat of these animalshas been used in the interests of sustainable management of wildliferesources.Local people have been given cash and game meat supplies and projectslinked to their specific needs have been created as incentives to participate inthe programme. The money raised by safari hunting and more recently fromeco-tourism is, for example, returned to the affected communities, as part ofthe effort to link environmental management with rural economicdevelopment. Community projects in various districts have included theprovision of a grinding mill, building of a classroom block, supply of a waterpumping plant, and establishment of a clinic (see table).The sharing of impala, buffalo and elephant meat among households in aResidents of Chikarakwara Ward in Beitbridge are holding a communitymeeting where women decided to buy a community grinding mill. Thisbenefit mobilised the women to support the CAMPFIRE programme.Photo: T. Maveneke68