CAMPFIRE - the political ecology of poverty alleviation, wildlife utilisation and biodiversity conservation in Zimbabwe

Abstract

The Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE) has gained international acclaim as the earliest project (WBGU 2000) to involve the rural population of marginalised areas in decisions on how to use their indigenous resources and the income resulting from this use1). “Conservation through utilisation”, in particular of wildlife, is the ideal guiding the CAMPFIRE programme. It is based on the assumption that the local inhabitants can only be successfully involved in the long-term conservation of natural resources if they themselves can make decisions about how to utilise the resources of their homeland and if they stand to benefit economically from the conservation of nature and wildlife. CAMPFIRE’s top priority goals are accordingly – to improve the economic situation of the inhabitants by developing new sources of income that make sustainable use of natural resources; – to conserve the biodiversity; – to enable the people to participate in political decisions (empowerment). 184 Erdkunde Band 56/2002