World Wildlife Fund - Annual Report 2007 - (Page 14)

In Namibia, success with community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) – natural resource conservation managed by local people – succeeds across the national landscape. Namibia stands apart in making the most of its natural resources: It was the first African country to incorporate protection of the environment into its constitution. And in the mid-1990s, national legislation gave people living in communal areas the opportunity to manage their natural resources through communal conservancies. When WWF began working here in 1993, the concept of wildlife and habitats as economic assets worth managing was revolutionary. But we had already demonstrated the success of this strategy through our mid-1980s conservation activities in Annapurna Conservation Area in the Eastern Chris Weaver Himalayas. There, community-based conservation was the mechanism that WWF’s lead in Namibia, Chris Weaver has been in Southern Africa since the early broke the cycle of poverty and 1980s, designing and managing environmental degradation. As local conservation projects. He’s been in the field people earned socioeconomic conducting inventories of rangelands, vegetation, wildlife, soils, and hydrology benefits by managing their own resources. He’s been in the office balancing natural resources, the incentive to do budgets and writing funding proposals. And so became a sustaining force for he’s been in the halls of Namibia's Ministry conservation and prosperity. of Environment and Tourism, helping them The Namibian government, being visionary about the devolvement of rights to communities, also decided to test this practice through a many-faceted CBNRM effort. WWF has proven an able partner in this process: a government CBNRM project called LIFE (for Living in a Finite Environment) was established with funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development and WWF-US manages it. “Together, we have mobilized communities into legally recognized bodies to manage communal natural resources,” says WWF’s Chris Weaver, who has led our work in Namibia from the start. “And we have improved the social, economic and ecological knowledge base and the skills they need to do this.” Community-based natural resource management had never before been attempted on a national scale. But today, more than 50 established conservancies operate across the country, and 20 more are emerging – vital proof that the right approach produces the right result. “Proceeds from activities like ecotourism and closely regulated sport hunting have come back to the communities as wages,” says Weaver, “and as investments in desperately needed schooling and rural development.” 14 worldwildlife.org establish 50 community conservancies based on cutting-edge, market-led conservation principles. Twenty more are in development. The goal: empower communities to responsibly manage their wildlife resources in ways that generate income and benefits in return. “Conservancies allow zebras and other wildlife to rebound and boost ecotourism. The proceeds come back to the communities as wages and as investments in desperately needed schooling and rural development.” Chris Weaver WWF LIFE Program, Namibia http://worldwildlife.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of World Wildlife Fund - Annual Report 2007

WWF - Annual Report 2007 Contents The Landscapes of People's Lives The President’s Report Africa, Land of the Soul Building Prosperity from Africa’s Natural Wealth A Namibian Odyssey Natural Capital: Putting a Price on Nature Investing in Fish and Fishermen Wildlife in the Balance Africans on the Move WWF Results Across the Globe A Different Kind of Fieldwork A River Dammed Pooling Efforts in the World’s Aquarium More Than Just the Daily Catch All Along the Equator A Partnership for Freshwater Funding and Financial Overview Statement of Activities Ways to Give Staff National Council Board of Directors

World Wildlife Fund - Annual Report 2007

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