Community-based Natural Resource Management Initiatives Research Articles

Mainstreaming climate change in policy frameworks for community-based natural resource management in a semi-arid savannah environment: case study of Botswana

Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) is a concept that was introduced in southern Africa back in the 1980s with the dual aim of biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction in communities endowed with natural resources. Community-based tourism (CBT), one of the major forms of CBNRM, depends on natural resources, particularly wildlife, and weather and climatic conditions. However, natural resources are under threat from climatic changes and other anthropogenic and natural disturbances. This calls for the need to interrogate the extent to which CBNRM initiatives mainstream climate change in their agenda. The main aim of this article is to assess the extent to which the climate change agenda has been mainstreamed into the policy framework of Botswana's CBNRM program. The specific objectives are to (1) document the impacts of climate change on CBNRM-related initiatives in Botswana; (2) determine the relationship between climate parameters (temperature and rainfall), extreme events (drought and extreme heat), and visitor trends in Botswana and the Okavango Delta; (3) establish a historical correlation between evolution of climate change policy and CBNRM policy and vice versa, policy initiatives, programs, strategies, and projects in Botswana; (4) explore the extent to which international, regional, national, and local climate policies mainstream CBNRM and tourism issues and vice versa; and (5) explore the challenges and opportunities related to climate change and CBNRM, with a particular focus on adaptation and mitigation initiatives. This study mostly used qualitative approaches (desktop review of policy documents and scholarly articles) as well as secondary quantitative data (time-series data) to explore the evolution of CBNRM in Botswana, providing an overview of its structure, policy initiatives, programs, and projects and how these correspond with climate change issues. A scoping review was conducted to identify relevant studies on the impacts of climate change on CBNRM initiatives published between 1992 and 2023. A total of 50 articles were identified to answer the following research question: What evidence is available regarding the impacts of climate change on CBNRM initiatives? The article further looks at how climate change–related extreme events, particularly drought, has affected tourism performance over the years. The article then zeros down on the effects of climate change on CBNRM initiatives and the challenges, threats, and opportunities, as well as the mitigation and adaptation strategies adopted by the CBNRM projects in Botswana. The findings indicate that climate change–induced events, particularly drought, have affected nature-based tourism products in Botswana. However, it was revealed that although there is no statistically significant correlation between drought and tourism performance, evidence from the literature reveals that drought has impacted tourism in Botswana. The findings from policy analysis indicate that the climate change agenda is woven into more recent key legal and policy documents on CBNRM, on one hand, while the climate change policy documents also include components that speak to CBNRM, on the other. This implies that the tourism sector can leverage these provisions to strengthen climate resilience through transformative adaptation and mitigation action.

Learning from Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) in Ghana and Zambia: lessons for integrated landscape approaches

Land use in much of sub-Saharan Africa is dominated by legislative frameworks based on a strong colonial legacy, focusing strongly on state control and minimal devolution of management responsibilities to local communities. However, attempts to reconcile conservation and socio-economic development by increasing stakeholder engagement in community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) have been undertaken since the late 1980s. Based on a review of published literature on historical land-use trajectories, the evolution of CBNRM, and key respondent interviews with NRM experts in Ghana and Zambia, this paper asks: What lessons can be learned from CBNRM to inform integrated landscape approaches for more equitable social and ecological outcomes? The paper discusses the positive characteristics and persistent challenges arising from CBNRM initiatives in both countries. The former being, improved rights and resource access, an established institutional structure at the local level, and a conservation approach tailored to the local context. The latter include the absence of multi-scale collaboration, inadequate inclusive and equitable local participation, and limited sustainability of CBNRM initiatives beyond short-term project funding timelines. The paper argues that integrated landscape approaches can address these challenges and improve natural resource management in Ghana and Zambia. We urge landscape practitioners to consider how the lessons learned from CBNRM are being addressed in practice, as they represent both challenges and opportunities for landscape approaches to improve natural resource management.

Towards a pro-community-based water resource management system in Northwest Cameroon: practical evidence and lessons of best practices

This paper examines community-based water supply management (CBWSM) in three rural districts of Northwest Cameroon as well as a review of the literature focusing on some successful community-based natural resource management initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa. Using empirical and secondary data collected through participatory research methods, it is argued that CBWSM has failed to achieve sustainable water supplies in Northwest Cameroon. Findings revealed that centralized control, the prevalence of poverty, passive involvement of public, private and grassroots community has continued to thwart water supplies within these districts. It is important to note that in any natural resource management system, power becomes a crucial factor as it determines who has and does not have access to common-pool resources. This paper argues that argues that strong traditional leadership, resolute devolution, and active participation of rural communities will facilitate and invigorate a platform for capturing the views of diverse user groups and this can bring about a people-centered and community-driven development process. Some aspects of best practice arising from successful case studies in Cameroon can contribute significantly to promoting the development of effective CBWSM in other rural communities with similar characteristics in and out of Cameroon. This will be possible only if rural groups are involved and engaged in the management of their resources while integrating some aspects of best practice.

Community forestry and sustainability research at The New York Botanical Garden

Research focused on community forestry and the sustainable use of tropical forest resources has been conducted at The New York Botanical Garden for over 30 years. Five of the projects are located in the Neotropics, six are in Southeast Asia, and three are in Tropical Africa; project sites include some of the largest remaining areas of tropical forest in the world, e.g. Amazonia, Borneo, northern Myanmar, and Papua New Guinea. All of the projects have had a training component, several have incorporated both training and the collection of baseline data, and much of the recent work has included training, baseline data collection, and community-based natural resource management (CBNRM). The CBNRM initiatives at NYBG are unique because (1) they are based on quantitative inventory and growth data, (2) they are conducted in intact forests as a conservation incentive, and (3) the data collection, management planning, and monitoring activities are conducted by the villagers themselves. Although a variety of different ecological, economic, and social factors can influence the success of a community forestry project, one of the major lessons learned from the NYBG interventions is that management programs specifically tailored to a given community and forest based on a preliminary assessment of the actual supply and demand of forest resources are most effective.

Can scenario-planning support community-based natural resource management? Experiences from three countries in Latin America

Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) is a concept critical to managing socio-ecological systems, but whose implementation needs strengthening. Scenario-planning is one approach that may offer benefits relevant to CBNRM, but whose potential is not yet well understood. We therefore designed, trialled and evaluated a scenario-planning method intended to support CBNRM at three cases, located in Colombia, Mexico and Argentina. Implementing scenario-planning was judged as worthwhile in all three cases, although aspects of it could be challenging to facilitate. The benefits generated were relevant to strengthening CBNRM: encouraging the participation of local people and using their knowledge; enhanced consideration and adaption of future change; and supporting the development of systems thinking. Tracing exactly when and how these benefits arise is challenging, but two elements of the method seemed particularly useful. Firstly, using a systematic approach to discuss how drivers of change may affect local socio-ecological systems helped to foster systems thinking and identify connections between issues. Secondly, explicitly focusing on how to use and respond to scenarios helped identify specific practical activities ('response options') that would support CBNRM despite the pressures of future change. Discussions about response options also highlighted the need for support by other actors (e.g. policy groups): this raises the question of when and how other actors and other sources of knowledge should be involved in scenario-planning, so as to encourage their buy-in to actions identified by the process. We suggest other CBNRM initiatives may benefit from adapting and applying scenario-planning. However, these initiatives should be carefully monitored since further research is required to understand how and when scenario-planning methods may produce benefits, and their strengths and weaknesses versus other methods.

Community Based Natural Resource Management, Tourism and Poverty Alleviation in Southern Africa: What Works and What Doesn’t Work

Community based natural resource management (CBNRM) is perhaps the most important tool for driving community and rural development in southern Africa. The paper therefore analyses the CBNRM framework as a strategy for implementing sustainable tourism and poverty alleviation initiatives in Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia. The article specifically underscores the importance of local-level participatory management and utilisation of natural resources in the region. Paying special attention to the previous researches that have been conducted in Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia, the methodological approach employed in the paper centres on critical discourse analysis and review of literatures to highlight the interface existing between CBNRM and rural (tourism) development. The analytical framework of the paper is thus rooted in the Common Property Resource (CPR) theory. Overall, the authors argue that tourism, poverty alleviation, rural development, and sustainable natural resource use are linked and interrelated in the process of enhancing community well-being. Findings indicate that CBNRM initiatives have had a significant and positive impact in achieving sustainable tourism, rural development, poverty alleviation, and natural resource management. Specifically, findings show that the CBNRM has contributed to the reduction in wildlife poaching. While other pertinent issues remain, national governments in the three southern African economies need to fully appropriate the benefits that CBNRM offers and improve on them for better implementation of developmental programs.

The Best Laid Plans: Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) Group Capacity and Planning Success

As community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) increases in popularity, the question of the capacity of such groups to successfully manage natural resources becomes increasingly relevant. However, few studies have quantifiably analyzed how the amount or type of capacity in a CBNRM organization directly affects the outputs or the environmental outcomes produced. This paucity of research exists in part due to the diversity of indicators for CBNRM group capacity, as well as the ensuing debate over how to best define and measure success in CBNRM initiatives. Although concrete outputs vary widely, many efforts center on creating natural resource management plans (RMPs). The primary objective of our research was to explore the link between capacity and RMP implementation success, as perceived by practitioners among CBNRM groups across Illinois. A short online survey was constructed, utilizing findings from focus groups in combination with an extensive literature review, to measure CBNRM participants' (n = 190) perceptions of 10 key capacity indicators and RMP implementation success. Results show that capacity perceptions varied significantly among respondents in low, moderate, and high RMP implementation success groups, and that group capacity was predictive of the degree of perceived RMP implementation success. Further, our findings suggest that bonding social capital and outreach are crucial in predicting low versus moderate RMP success, while leadership, motivation, and vision best distinguish the moderately successful and highly successful groups.

Identifying capacity indicators for community-based natural resource management initiatives: focus group results from conservation practitioners across Illinois

The increasing popularity of community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) warrants an exploration of the capacity of such initiatives to co-ordinate and implement successful conservation efforts. We used reconstructivist methods – specifically, focus groups with nominal group techniques – to determine 10 key capacity indicators for successful CBNRM. The list comprises motivation, leadership, respect, mutual interest/shared values, outreach/education, marketing, communication, planning, funding and equipment/supplies. Our results can be used by CBNRM groups for capacity-building and self-assessment activities, by bridging organisations to increase the capacity of such initiatives, or by researchers interested in measuring the capacity of community-based groups to achieve their conservation goals.

The effectiveness of economic incentives for sustaining community based natural resource management

Incentives are key to attracting and maintaining participation in community based natural resource management (CBNRM) initiatives. However, incentives cannot work if people do not know about them, if they are inappropriate or if they are delivered in insufficient quantities. In southern African CBNRM initiatives, many incentives are offered, particularly jobs and community income from hunting and photographic tourism activities. There is a need to assess – jointly – residents’ knowledge and perceptions of these incentives and their actual delivery to determine whether they are likely to be effective in sustaining participation in CBNRM activities over the long run. This paper reports the results of just such an assessment at two CBNRM sites, the Tchuma Tchato project in Mozambique and Kwandu Conservancy in Namibia. While different types of benefits were delivered at both sites, they were largely of low value and low in volume. It appears that the incentives offered are not inappropriate, but are insufficient – too few people benefit directly and the level of benefits is generally too small. Further, a large minority of households feel benefits have been inequitably distributed and that the direct costs of living with wildlife have been ineffectively addressed. These issues should be viewed as potentially serious challenges to maintaining local participation in CBNRM activities in the long run.

Key Principles of Community-Based Natural Resource Management: A Synthesis and Interpretation of Identified Effective Approaches for Managing the Commons

This article examines recent research on approaches to community-based environmental and natural resource management and reviews the commonalities and differences between these interdisciplinary and multistakeholder initiatives. To identify the most effective characteristics of Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM), I collected a multiplicity of perspectives from research teams and then grouped findings into a matrix of organizational principles and key characteristics. The matrix was initially vetted (or "field tested") by applying numerous case studies that were previously submitted to the World Bank International Workshop on CBNRM. These practitioner case studies were then compared and contrasted with the findings of the research teams. It is hoped that the developed matrix may be useful to researchers in further focusing research, understanding core characteristics of effective and sustainable CBNRM, providing practitioners with a framework for developing new CBNRM initiatives for managing the commons, and providing a potential resource for academic institutions during their evaluation of their practitioner-focused environmental management and leadership curriculum.

The Okavango; a river supporting its people, environment and economic development

The Okavango basin comprises the Cuito and Cubango active catchment areas in Angola, in addition to the Kavango-Okavango non-active catchment in northern Namibia and Botswana. The Okavango River water and its ecosystem resources are critically important sources of livelihoods for people in the basin. Pressures from livelihoods and development are already impacting on the environment. These pressures may increase in the future due to the rapid increase in population, the peace process and associated resettlement activities in Angola, and major development initiatives in Botswana and Namibia. For instance, possible future increase in water abstraction from the Okavango River may affect the long-term environmental sustainability of the Okavango Delta by minimizing channel shifting and thereby reducing spatial biodiversity. The paper argues that while conservation of the natural environment is critical, the pressing development needs must be recognized. The reduction of poverty within the basin should be addressed in order to alleviate adverse effects on the environment. The paper recommends that the development of sustainable tourism and community-based natural resource management initiatives may be appropriate strategies for reaching the Millennium Development Goals of poverty alleviation and achievement of environmental sustainability in the Okavango Basin. These initiatives have a comparative advantage in this area as demonstrated by the performance of the existing projects.

Livelihood Opportunity and Diversity in Kalahari Wildlife Management Areas, Botswana: Rethinking Community Resource Management

The livelihood opportunities open to people, and the diverse portfolios of activities that make up a living, are now key areas of conceptual and empirical research. Similarly, community-based natural resource management initiatives are currently receiving widespread attention in both policy and academic circles. This paper draws on research conducted in western Botswana, which examined community development and wildlife management in a Kalahari Wildlife Management Area. It focuses on the livelihood dynamics of residents living in two remote settlements in the Wildlife Management Area. These livelihood dynamics are closely linked with the complex history of resource use and conflict in the area. Hunting and gathering, two key livelihood activities, are examined in detail. The paper argues that, although the natural resource base has changed, and use of natural resources has in many cases dwindled, livelihoods based on these resources remain important in terms of cultural identity, symbolic significance and as a real and perceived safety net in times of stress. These findings have both positive and negative consequences for the proposed community-based natural resource management initiatives in the area. The dynamics of people's livelihoods are not always recognised by those implementing the changes. Community-based natural resource management projects have the potential to embrace social justice and ecological sustainability. However they also have the potential to undermine rural populations' individual and collective actions to manage their resources base and maintain viable livelihood strategies at a range of levels.