Conservancies In Namibia Research Articles

Drivers of hunting and photographic tourism income to communal conservancies in Namibia

Drivers of hunting and photographic tourism income to communal conservancies in Namibia

A guide to qualitative attribution methods for evaluation in conservation.

Knowledge of what conservation interventions improve biodiversity outcomes, and in which circumstances, is imperative. Experimental and quasi-experimental methods are increasingly used to establish causal inference and build the evidence base on the effectiveness of interventions, but their ability to provide insight into how and under what conditions an intervention should be implemented to improve biodiversity outcomes faces limitations. A suite of attribution methods that leverage qualitative methods for causal inference is available but underutilized in conversation impact evaluation. This article provides a guide to 5 such qualitative attribution methods: contribution analysis, process tracing, realist evaluation, qualitative comparative analysis, and most significant change. It defines and introduces each method and then illustrates how they could be applied through a case study of community conservancies in Namibia. This guide provides examples of how qualitative attribution methods can advance knowledge of what works, in which contexts, and why in biodiversity conservation.

Lessons on the Community Conservancy Model for Wildlife Protection in Namibia

The growing human population in Africa is putting increasing pressure on habitats and wildlife outside of protected areas. The wildlife conservancy model in Namibia empowers rural communities to decide on the use of wildlife. Namibia started to implement the conservancy model in the 1990s and provides relevant experience from which other countries can learn. We reviewed the conservancy model in northwest Namibia to identify lessons for other countries. Our core work included case studies on six conservancies. We confirmed success factors for conservancies include: investment and revenues, strong governance and support from NGOs, as has been identified in previous studies. We conclude that a comprehensive wildlife monitoring programme is also a critical success factor. The wildlife monitoring method in conservancies in Namibia has been consistent since 2001, and the results show that populations have recovered and stabilised, although there are ongoing risks to wildlife and habitats in this fragile landscape.

Integrating social-ecological systems and global production networks: local effects of trophy hunting in Namibian conservancies

ABSTRACT In addition to wildlife conservation, Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) programmes aim to foster regional development. To achieve this, communal areas couple to tourism Global Production Networks (GPN). In this paper, we conceptualise Namibian communal Conservancies as Social-Ecological Systems (SES) and combine the SES and GPN approaches to benefit from the SESF's explanatory power for ecological and social relationships at a local level as well as from the GPN grasp of global linkages. We analyse the impact of trophy hunting on three communal conservancies in Namibia: King Nehale, Nyae Nyae, and Ehi-Rovipuka. Although wildlife numbers in these conservancies have increased, positive economic impacts are often insufficient, unevenly distributed across regions, and parts of the population are excluded. At the same time, findings indicate that in some areas, where revenues are larger and population is smaller, benefits from hunting can be significant and can contribute to SES sustainability.

Mammal species composition and diversity of the Nyae Nyae Communal Conservancy, Otjozondjupa Region, Namibia

The emergence of the communal conservancies in Namibia contributed to community-based conservation approach outside protected areas. This study was conducted to establish the status of biodiversity conservation of the Nyae Nyae Conservancy by analysing the mammal species composition and diversity changes for 13 years. The long-term wildlife count data were obtained from the conservancy in Tsumkwe, Otjozondjupa region. A total of 20 mammal species, comprising of ungulates and predators, were recorded from 2001 through 2013. The overall trend of the mammal species population sizes was positive, though not statistically significant (r = 0.477; t10 = 1.574; P = 0.145). In addition to the stable species composition over the years, the mammal species diversity in Nyae Nyae conservancy was high (Simpson Index of Diversity, SID = 0.81). However, a significant decline in the diversity of mammal species (SID = 0.72) was detected in 2013 evident from the low species count data. This low diversity may be attributable to many factors including but not limited to the effects of severe drought which may have led to the emigration of some species, reduction in the abundance of some species due to deaths from drought and low reproductive output. Hence Nyae Nyae Conservancy, though an open unfenced system, serves as a good example in which a community-based natural management program outside protected areas contributes not only to the conservation of natural resources including wildlife but also utilisation of these resources for the benefit of local community members.

Livestock Farmers Engage in Ecotourism as a Result of Beliefs and Attitudes Toward Wildlife on Communal Lands in Namibia

ABSTRACTAn individual’s decision to support conservation efforts can be affected by personal attitudes. We interviewed 100 indigenous livestock farmers on Ehirovipuka and ≠Khoadi //Hôas communal conservancies in Namibia. As conservancy support groups work with farmers, there is a need to understand what influences farmer decisions to engage in ecotourism activities for livelihood. We evaluated cognitive characteristics of farmers and their attitudes toward 10 species of wildlife. Farmers had negative attitudes toward predators, more positive attitudes toward meat-producing species and a hornbill (Tockus sp.), and moderate attitudes toward African elephant (Loxodonta africana) and black rhino (Diceros bicornis), which can cause damage but also attract tourists. We show support for a partial mediation model in which cognitive characteristics of farmers predicted attitudes toward predators and damage animals. The attitudes toward these species, in turn, predicted participation in the ecotourism industry.

Complementary benefits of tourism and hunting to communal conservancies in Namibia

Tourism and hunting both generate substantial revenues for communities and private operators in Africa, but few studies have quantitatively examined the trade-offs and synergies that may result from these two activities. We evaluated financial and in-kind benefit streams from tourism and hunting on 77 communal conservancies in Namibia from 1998 to 2013, where community-based wildlife conservation has been promoted as a land-use that complements traditional subsistence agriculture. We used data collected annually for all communal conservancies to characterize whether benefits were derived from hunting or tourism. We classified these benefits into 3 broad classes and examined how benefits flowed to stakeholders within communities under the status quo and under a simulated ban on hunting. Across all conservancies, total benefits from hunting and tourism increased at roughly the same rate, although conservancies typically started generating benefits from hunting within 3 years of formation as opposed to after 6 years for tourism. Disaggregation of data revealed that the main benefits from hunting were income for conservancy management and food in the form of meat for the community at large. The majority of tourism benefits were salaried jobs at lodges. A simulated ban on trophy hunting significantly reduced the number of conservancies that could cover their operating costs, whereas eliminating income from tourism did not have as severe an effect. Given that the benefits generated from hunting and tourism typically begin at different times in a conservancy's life-span (earlier vs. later, respectively) and flow to different segments of local communities, these 2 activities together may provide the greatest incentives for conservation on communal lands in Namibia. A singular focus on either hunting or tourism would reduce the value of wildlife as a competitive land-use option and have grave repercussions for the viability of community-based conservation efforts in Namibia, and possibly other parts of Africa.

Determinants of Individual Level Satisfaction with Community Based Natural Resources Management: A Case of Five Communities in Namibia

Using a logistic regression model, this paper examines key factors that influence individual support for communal conservancies in Namibia. It tests the hypothesis that if individuals are compensated for their wildlife related losses, they are more likely to support community based wildlife management projects. Data for this study were collected from 472 members of five conservancies in the Caprivi Region of Namibia. Respondents were selected through convenience sampling. The key findings are that receiving meat, activity during the Annual General Meeting (AGM), and being a member of a specific conservancy are the key predictors of satisfaction with the conservancy among the respondents. On the other hand, cash and jobs have no significant impact on individual attitudes toward communal conservancies. Based on these findings, the paper argues that the focus on incentives omits broader factors that motivate individuals to participate in community-based conservation.

Conservation on contested lands: the case of Namibia's communal conservancies

Community Conservation initiatives have become widespread in several Southern African countries and have also been increasingly involved in disputes over land claims, control of resources and territorial authority. The aim of this paper is to analyse how Communal Conservancies in Namibia are being used by rural communities as tools for gaining or securing access to and control of communal land in a moment when it is perceived as increasingly scarce. Peasants, Traditional Authorities, the State and conservationists all try to influence the use that will be given to contested lands. The paper will focus on two cases: King Nehale Conservancy, a heavily populated mixed agricultural land in North-Central Namibia (Owamboland) and Nyae Nyae Conservancy, a semi-arid land inhabited by a historically marginalised population, the Ju/’hoan San. In both cases Conservancies contribute to an increased control by communities over their land, but also imply the reinforcement of the presence of the State and private capital in communal areas, and become part of the internal struggles among sections of the communities themselves.

Challenges in fisheries management in the Zambezi, one of the great rivers of Africa

AbstractAlmost all fisheries in the Zambezi River system have experienced severe declines in catch rates, loss of larger, most valuable fish species, and increased use of environmentally damaging active fishing gears. The fisheries of the Barotse, Caprivi and Kafue floodplains, and lakes Kariba (Zambian sector), Malawi and Malombe are all fished down. The concept of balanced harvesting with moderate effort has no relevance to these African inland fisheries, where rapid human population growth and lack of alternative livelihoods for small‐scale fishers means they have no choice but to continue fishing despite dwindling returns. In some areas, e.g. Liuwa Plain National Park in Zambia and conservancies in Namibia, comanagement with local communities has potential for success, but other fisheries, e.g. Lake Malombe in Malawi, are so severely fished down that there is no prospect of recovery without radical restructuring of exploitation patterns coupled with habitat restoration.

Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) and Sustainable Development in Namibia

Integrated Conservation and Development Projects (ICDPs) have been an important attempt to answer the problems associated with game reserves and wildlife conservation in rural Africa. ICDPs promise local community participation in natural resource management and biodiversity preservation on one hand and reduction of rural poverty on the other. This article looks at the literature on Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) in Namibia. It looks at how CBNRM has been conceived as a way to deal with problems of poverty biodiversity preservation and more importantly as a driver of rural development. It notes the various criticisms levelled at ICDP inspired programmes such as CBNRM and how Namibia has dealt with them. More specifically it asks the following questions: How has CBNRM operated and fared? What problems have CBNRM faced? To what extent has the formation of conservancies enabled rural communities to gain a voice and decision-making power, diversify their income; and create adequate institutions, skills and capacity for themselves? The aim of this article is to see to what extent some of these criticisms of ICDP hold for Namibia’s CBNRM and conservancies in particular. This article is largely conceptual in nature as it examines research material and literature that relates the operation of conservancies in Namibia.

New tourism concessions in National Parks to benefit community conservancies in Namibia

New tourism concessions in National Parks to benefit community conservancies in Namibia

Community‐based wildlife management failing to link conservation and financial viability

AbstractGiven the considerable popularity of community‐based wildlife management as a conservation tool, it is of interest to assess the long‐run sustainability of this policy not only in conservation terms, but also in financial terms. In this paper, we use cost–benefit analysis to study the social and financial sustainability of a large set of community conservancies in Namibia, one of the few countries where community‐based wildlife management policies have been in place long enough to assess their long‐term viability. We find that, although the social sustainability is generally good, the financial sustainability is problematic – especially for the younger conservancies: there is no real link between conservation achievements and financial success. This calls into question the long‐term sustainability of many of these conservancies: if they are unable to generate enough revenue to pay for their running expenditure, they will eventually fail – even if they are successful from a conservation point of view. Similar problems, linked to the way in which external funders have pushed for additional conservancies to be established regardless of financial considerations, are likely to be present in other countries that have implemented such programmes.

Vegetation of the eastern communal conservancies in Namibia: II. Environmental drivers

The eastern communal conservancies are situated along the western fringe of the Kalahari basin. Under a very short rainfall gradient, the vegetation abruptly changes from microphyllous Acacia-dominated savannas to mesophyll savannas, dominated by Terminalia sericea and Combretum spp. We hypothesise that this is caused by changes in soil moisture availability brought about by changes in soil texture from loamy soils to deep sands (the ‘inverse texture effect’). For this analysis, we used vegetation and soils data derived from a recognisance survey of the natural resources of the study area. As the sites in the soil and vegetation surveys did not overlap, it was decided to use only synoptic data for the plant associations in the analysis. Non-metric multidimesional scaling ordination was utilised as ordination technique of the vegetation data and various environmental parameters, including soil texture, soil hydraulic parameters, climatic and fire regime parameters, were overlaid as biplots onto the resulting graph, as were various plant functional attributes particularly related to climatic conditions. The main environmental gradient identified within the study area is the rainfall gradient. This relatively short gradient, however, does not explain the marked change in vegetation observed within the study area. This change is attributed to the change in soil type, in particular, the soil texture and the associated soil hydraulic parameters of the soil. This gradient is closely correlated to leaf size, explaining the change from microphyll savannas to mesophyll savannas along the change from loamy to sandy soils. One of the lesser understood mechanisms for the survival of these mesophyll plants on sandy soils seems to be a deep root system, which is actively involved in water redistribution within the soil profile – by hydraulic lift, inverse hydraulic lift and stem flow.Conservation implications: Understanding these mechanisms will greatly assist in understanding savanna dynamics. With the threat of global climate change, we postulate that the vegetation will gradually change from the present mesophyll to a microphyll savanna, but that the grass sward will probably not develop very well. Shrub and tree removal (‘bush harvesting’) is likely to speed up the desertification process within this area.

Conservation-Based Rural Development in Namibia

Using a survey of communal conservancies in Namibia, we find that they provide some direct economic benefits to conservancy members, but that indirect benefits promoting development for all residents have not materialized. This partially explains why a high level of discontent with community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) as a development strategy remains, which would need to be addressed with policies that promote a more equitable distribution of benefits from CBNRM. Advocates of CBNRM draw on theories of comparative advantage and collective action to argue that communal conservation efforts enhance the viability of nature tourism as a rural development strategy. We employ a mixed-methods approach to test to what extent CBNRM generates direct and indirect economic benefits, and if these benefits induce participation in communal conservation.

Linking Women’s Participation and Benefits within the Namibian Community Based Natural Resource Management Program

Women are important resource users and managers and their participation in community based natural resource management activities can create a platform for their empowerment and enhance their role in decision-making, including benefit sharing. The purpose of this paper is to examine the levels of participation of women in activities Namibia’s communal area conservancies and the benefits they receive. The study was carried out in four conservancies in Namibia. It reveals that women participate in diverse activities. With respect to conservancies, women’s participation appears to be highest in conservancy activities where their satisfaction levels with conservancy benefits are highest. Further, women from older and less populated conservancies prioritize conservancy activities above general community engagements. Benefits to women were conservancy-specific, although game meat emerged as a prominent benefit to all conservancies. Allowing women to actively participate in initiatives that are related to their traditional roles is essential in enhancing women’s participation and improved benefits, and is desired by women in all of the conservancies studied.

Empowering Local People through Community-based Resource Monitoring: a Comparison of Brazil and Namibia

Biological resource monitoring systems are implemented in many countries and often depend on the participation of local people. It has been suggested that these systems empower local participants while promoting conservation. We reviewed three wildlife monitoring systems in indigenous lands and sustainable development reserves in Brazilian Amazonia and one in Namibian Caprivi conservancies, analyzing the strategies adopted and conditions that facilitated local empowerment, as well as potential impacts on conservation. This provided insights into potential avenues to strengthen empowerment outcomes of monitoring systems in Latin America and Africa. We assessed four dimensions of empowerment at individual and community scales: psychological, social, economic, and political. The conditions that facilitated local empowerment included the value of natural resources, rights to trade and manage resources, political organization of communities, and collaboration by stakeholders. The wide range of strategies to empower local people included intensifying local participation, linking them to local education, feeding information back to communities, purposefully selecting participants, paying for monitoring services, marketing monitored resources, and inserting local people into broader politics. Although communities were socially and politically empowered, the monitoring systems more often promoted individual empowerment. Marketing of natural resources promoted higher economic empowerment in conservancies in Namibia, whereas information dissemination was better in Brazil because of integrated education programs. We suggest that practitioners take advantage of local facilitating conditions to enhance the empowerment of communities, bearing in mind that increasing autonomy to make management decisions may not agree with international conservation goals. Our comparative analysis of cases in Latin America and Africa allows for a greater understanding of the relationships between resource monitoring systems, local empowerment, and conservation.

Benefits to local communities from community conservancies in Namibia: an assessment

This article evaluates the benefits of community-based activities in wildlife conservancies in Namibia by asking three questions: Do community conservancies contribute to an increase in household welfare? Are such programmes pro-poor; that is, do they improve welfare more for poorer households than for the less poor? Does participation in conservancy increase household welfare more for participants than non-participants? This study bases the analyses on a 2002 survey covering seven conservancies and 1192 households. The results suggest that community conservancies have a positive impact on household welfare. The authors also conclude that this impact is poverty-neutral in some regions and pro-poor in others. Further, welfare benefits from conservancies appear to be fairly evenly distributed between participant and non-participant households.

Mitigating an elephantine epidemic: gendered space for HIV/AIDS outreach through Namibian conservancies

As the reach of HIV/AIDS continues to devastate communities and create potential pressures on natural resources, conservation organizations have increasingly become involved in education and outreach to address the disease. This paper’s purpose is to investigate how increasing HIV infection rates and AIDS deaths relate to community-based conservation and livelihood strategies in the Caprivi Region of northeastern Namibia, and demonstrate that conservation organizations can play a unique role in combating the disease. As the epidemic is more widespread in the Caprivi than in any other region of the country, local organizations such as Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation (IRDNC) are responding to the disease by integrating it into conservation work. IRDNC’s efforts reflect a particular focus on gender, including changes in the way that HIV/AIDS is discussed in local communities, strategies to promote access to testing and care, and bringing to light the experiences of individuals and families struggling with HIV/AIDS. This approach shows that there are benefits to be gained from approaching HIV/AIDS mitigation through familiar, existing structures such as those of community conservancies in Namibia—especially the ability to circumvent heavy local stigma. Using data collected through participant observation and participatory discussions, this paper demonstrates that conservation programs can positively affect people with HIV/AIDS, highlighting the importance of mainstreaming outreach efforts that address the particular localized manifestations of the disease in the context of natural resource management.

A fuzzy decision support tool for wildlife translocations into communal conservancies in Namibia

A fuzzy logic knowledge based decision support system, Wildlife Introduction Advisor, was developed using NetWeaver to standardise the decision making process of selecting communal conservancies for wildlife translocation in Namibia. Wildlife translocations are a valuable conservation tool with benefits for both local communities and wildlife populations, but are often undertaken in an ad hoc fashion. In Namibia, communal conservancies present a conservation opportunity for the expansion of wildlife ranges but the economic opportunities associated with wildlife create difficult situations of having to decide who gets animals and who does not. The Wildlife Introduction Advisor is the result of experts' agreement on structuring and prioritising the main factors that need to be considered. Both the validity of the system outputs and their sensitivity to input changes were evaluated through a series of tests, which show that it is possible to use a fuzzy logic decision support system to aid the selection of translocation sites for wildlife species. A knowledge based decision support tool such as Wildlife Introduction Advisor is an effective tool for a wildlife agency because it standardises the decision making process and thus enhances transparency and management accountability.