A2 CAMBRIDGE GEOGRAPHY: ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT - MANAGEMENT OF A DEGRADED ENVIRONMENT. Contains a case study about Namibia.

1. A2GEOGRAPHY
ENVIRONMENTALMANAGEMENT
12.4 MANAGEMENTOFA
DEGRADEDENVIRONMENT
CASESTUDIESNAMIBIA

2. NAMIBIA Namibia is a poor and sparsely
populated country in southwest
Africa.
Environmental degradation and
sustainability are significant issues
in Namibia’s marginal landscapes.
The government is attempting to
tackle these issues and reduce
poverty at the same time.
The causes of degradation have
been mainly uncontrolled
exploitation by a low-income
population and lack of management
at all levels of government in
earlier years.

4. NAMIBIA’S COMMUNAL CONSERVANCY PROGRAM
Namibia’s Communal
Conservancy Program is
regarded as a successful model
of community-based natural
resource management.
The program gives rural
communities unprecedented
management and use rights
over wildlife, which have
created new incentives for
communities to protect this
valuable resource and develop
economic opportunities in
tourism.

6. THE CONSERVANCY PROGRAM
The conservancy program began in 1996.
By 2007 it had expanded to 50 registered communal
conservancies, which now cover nearly 11.9 million hectares.
This encompasses over 14% of the area of the country,
benefiting more than 230,000 rural dwellers.
An obvious sign of success is the significant increase in the
numbers of wildlife in the conservancies after decades of
decline.
Communal conservancies are legally recognised common
property resource management organisations in Namibia’s
communal lands.

8. NEW ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
The conservancies benefit from a number of ‘new’ economic
activities including:
• contracts with tourism companies
• selling hunting concessions
• managing campsites
• selling wildlife to game ranchers
• selling crafts

10. DIVERSIFICATION OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
These activities are in addition to traditional farming
practices, which were traditionally at the subsistence level.
The diversification of economic activity made possible by the
conservancy programme has increased employment
opportunities and raised incomes.
Support from, and cooperation between, a number of
different institutions has been important to the development
of the programme.
Such institutions bring substantial experience and skills in
helping conservancies to develop. The next slide shows the
rapid expansion of the total land area under management of
conservancies from 1998 to 2005.

12. SUBSTANTIAL PROGRESS
Rural poverty is significant in Namibia, the conservancy
programme has resulted in substantial progress, with income
rising year on year.
Rising income from conservancies has made possible increasing
investment in social development projects.
This has made conservancies an increasingly important element
in rural development. Following the perceived success of
community conservancies, the Namibian government has
extended the concept to community forests.
Establishing a community forest is similar to the process of
forming a conservancy. This is a good example of the scaling-up
process from one natural resource system to another.

15. GLOSSARY
Community forests are forest areas where local communities
can manage and utilise forest resources in a sustainable
manner.
The scaling-up process involves expanding effective
programmes to reach larger numbers of people in a broader
geographic area.

16. It is easy to think that
managing degraded
environments means a
substantial reduction in
economic activity, when
often what is required is
a significant change in
economic activity.
Such changes, if
properly managed, can
both improve the
environment and
improve incomes for the
resident population.

17. WHAT ARE COMMUNAL CONSERVANCIES?

18. WHAT ARE COMMUNAL CONSERVANCIES?
Legally recognised common property resource management
organisations in Namibia’s communal lands.

19. WHEN DID NAMIBIA’S COMMUNAL
CONSERVANCY PROGRAM BEGIN?

20. WHEN DID NAMIBIA’S COMMUNAL
CONSERVANCY PROGRAM BEGIN?
1996