An assessment of changing
wildlife policy in Namibia
Patricia Skyer
National Association for CBNRM
Organisations, Namibia
Presentation outline
Land tenure regimes in Namibia
Timeline of changing wildlife policy
Assessment of current wildlife policy
and legislation
Other related policies and their impacts
Key lessons and recommendations
Dualistic land tenure structure
Freehold tenure area or commercial land
occupies 362,000 km2 and home to ???
people (44 % of total land area, home to ??
% of population)
Communal land occupies 335,400 km2 and
home to ??? People (41 % of total land area,
home to ??? % of population)
Protected areas – 14 % of total land
Changing Wildlife Policy
COMMERCIAL LAND:
1968 / 1975 –
Nature Conservation
Ordinance
1992 – Policy on
Establishment of
Conservancies in
Namibia
COMMUNAL LAND:
1995 – Policy on
Wildlife
Management,
Utilisation and
Tourism in
Communal Areas
1996 – Nature
Conservation
Amendment Act
Policy and effects on
commercial land
Conditions of ownership over huntable game
– 1000 ha farm, fenced in certain way
Farmers free to use huntable game, but
required permit to use protected or specially
protected game
Wildlife became valued income-generating
resource in growing wildlife industry
44% increase in game species and 80%
increase in total number of animals and
biomass between 1972 - 1992
Commercial land…
Establishment of game ranches
Late 1980s – needed farm units bigger
than 5000 ha for active game farming,
thus adopted conservancy model
Currently 23 Conservancies covering an
area of over 4 million ha
Financial rates of return more than
double that of individual ranches
Policy and effects on
communal land
Socio-ecological surveys in key wildlife areas
to gather community opinion and vision for
future wildlife policy and legislation
Pilot activities in target areas since 1993,
influencing policy
Aimed at: Redressing past discriminatory
policies and practices;
Empowering local communities by linking
rural economic development with wildlife
conservation and wild landscapes;
Granting limited wildlife and tourism rights to
rural communities.
Communal land…
Conditions for conservancy registration:
Defined membership and registered
members; Defined area with agreed
boundaries; Legal constitution, providing for
game management and utilisation plan;
Representative management committee;
Equitable benefits distribution plan.
Conservancy programme launched in 1998
17 of 29 communal conservancies adjacent to
National Parks, thus increase buffer zone area
around parks
Area under Communal
19 registered conservancies
Conservancies
40 emerging = ca. 60000 km2
Area under Conservancies
60000
Area (km2)
50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Years
Wildlife Populations & Trends in North-West Namibia
Estimated 2002 increase in asset value of plains game: N$21,000,000
Committees Representing Diverse
Communities
>60 Communities mobilized into
representative governance bodies
Number of People
People in registered Conservancies
70000
60000
50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
Year
Additional 70,000 – 100,000 in emerging conservancies
2003
Namibia National CBNRM
Programme 2002 - Benefits
Other related policies and
their impacts
National Land Policy (1998) and Communal
Land Reform Act (2002)
Decentralisation Policy (1997)
Traditional Authorities Act (2000)
Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Policy
(1993)
National Forestry Policy (1992; 1999) and
upcoming Forestry Bill
Community Based Tourism Policy (1995)
Inland Fisheries Policy (1995)
Communal Land Reform Act
and CBNRM
Tenure rights granted under national land
policy include all renewable natural resources
on that land, subject to sectoral policy and
legislation
Rights in respect of communal lands include
Customary land rights and Rights of
Leasehold
Customary land rights, including grazing
rights may relate to a farming unit; a
residential unit or any other form of
customary tenure recognised and described
by the Minister of Lands in the Gazette
Communal Land Act…
No specific provision of communal tenure
over land and resources, although third
option under customary land rights above,
may open window of opportunity
Land Administration in communal areas
vested in Land Boards and Traditional
Authorities
Customary land rights are allocated by the
Traditional Authority and ratified by the Land
Board
Rights of leasehold are allocated by the Land
Boards, only with consent by Traditional
Authority
Communal Land Act…
Right of leasehold not allowable in
areas already under customary land
rights, unless negotiated with holder of
customary land rights
In conservancy areas, right of leasehold
should consider conservancy
management and utilisation plan
Other policies
Decentralisation
Policy
Traditional
Authorities Act
Provides for full devolution
of powers and functions
relating to i.e
conservation, to Regional
Councils
Risk of regional
centralisation or
opportunity for
conservancy
representation on
Regional and Constituency
Development Coordinating
Committees
Designates TAs as
custodians of natural
resources
Mandates TAs to settle
disbutes within their
communities
No formalised linkages
with community resource
management institutions
established under sectoral
policies and legislation
Other policies
Water Policy
Aimed at: Improving
water supply to rural
communities;
Transferring management
responsibility of water
supply facilities to
communities.
Institutional arrangements
and requirements
compatible with
conservancy model.
Forestry Policy
Provision for community
involvement in forest
management
Linking rural development
and conservation goals by
granting property rights to
forest users
Resource tenure over
forests could potentially
be combined with
leasehold tenure over land
Institutional arrangements
and requirements
compatible with
conservancy model
Other policies
Community Based
Tourism Policy
Provides for community
access to tourism
development
opportunities and
benefits
Concessionary rights to
lodge developments
granted to registered
conservancies
Recognise incentives for
conservation through
linking tourism to
wildlife and wild
landscapes
Inland Fisheries
Policy
Aimed at devolving
management and
utilisation of inland
fisheries to communities
living around rivers
Scale of fisheries
management units
much smaller than
conservancies, but
compatible with
conservancy model
through institutional
linkages
Strengths of current wildlife
policy
Community inputs in policy formulation
gathered through socio-ecological surveys
Pilot activities and policy reform process
worked in tandem; thus policy influenced and
shaped by local realities
Conservancy formation is voluntary; selfdefined community; no prescribed
boundaries; freedom to choose own
conservancy committee or use existing
institution; Rights and full benefits directly to
communities, not through local government
structures; freedom to decide how to use
income is empowering.
Strengths…
Incentive driven and responsive to
community aspirations, rather than regulatory
and controlling
Policy environment enabling and conducive
for multiple stakeholder involvement through
partnership arrangements e.g. NGOs,
Academic institutions, Private Sector, etc.
Serve as entry point for devolution of rights
over other natural resources, in addition to
wildlife
Challenges and constraints in
current wildlife policy
Lack of land and full resource tenure makes it
difficult for conservancies to exclude nonmembers from moving into conservancy for
grazing needs etc.; or for conservancies to
raise capital loans or to attract tourism
investors as joint venture partners.
Lack of clarity on purposes and procedures
for granting leasehold rights under Communal
Land Act may affect conservancy rights over
tourism – ideal to exclude wildlife and tourism
from lease system, and just strengthen
community rights under current wildlife and
tourism legislation
Challenges and constraints…
Avoid land boards giving leases directly to
private sector.
Communal Land Act not as explicit as
National Land Policy on making tenure rights
granted, subject to sectoral policy
Lack of full control over tourism in
conservancies, e.g commercial mobile
tourism, self drive tourism,
Lack of Parks and Neighbours Policy creates
uncertainty over rights to wildlife and tourism
for park residents
Challenges and constraints …
Veterinary restrictions on game movements
from communal areas
Inconsistencies in policy interpretation and
application,

e.g rights over “huntable game” to freehold vs
communal conservancies differ;
Lack of operational procedures and guidelines
e.g. applications and approvals for quotas
and PTOs; problem animal control measures;
Challenges …
Tendency for government to reassert its
control over wildlife
Potential for competition between
conservancy committees and regional
government structures under decentralisation
policy – thus need for close coordination and
conservancy representation on regional
government structures.
Community based versus Committee based
NRM
Lessons and recommendations
Secure and exclusive group rights through full
resource and land tenure essential for long
term sustainability of CBNRM
Clarify mechanism for granting resource
rights to communities, e.g leasing land for
specific resource use purposes or actual
group tenure over land, with resource use
being regulated and rights provided for in
sectoral legislation.
Strengthen links between wildlife policy and
legislation, and other natural resource policies
and legislation
Lessons and recommendations
Strengthen cooperation between community
resource management institutions and land
control bodies, e.g Trad. Authorities and Land
Boards
Encourage positive relationships between
community resource management institutions
and regional development structures through
clearly defined roles and responsibilities
Need for regional conservation and tourism
planning forums, across conservancy
boundaries
Lessons…
Conservancy institutional model based on
common property resource institution design
principles, thus useful for management of
other resources (forestry, water, fisheries,
etc.)
Conscious attempts to avoid several resource
management committees, but to integrate
land and resource use planning and
management under one management
structure
Lessons…
Consider scale when exploring institutional
linkages across different resource
management and utilisation units
Pilot integrated resource management by
granting full rights over all natural resource to
at least one chosen community – analyse
different levels and scales at which resources
are managed and identify the level and scale
at which decision making should be located –
foster formal and informal links between
different layers, I.e re. Land use planning and
resource management plans.