News
"Namibia's communal conservancies: a review of progress in 2006" booklet published
The conservancy approach has proven effective both as a conservation strategy - as can be seen by the increase in wildlife in many of Namibia's communal areas - and as a rural development strategy, generating income for local communities, bringing new jobs, and providing skills and expertise.
This publication demonstrates the impressive results of CBNRM in the wildlife and tourism sector. It forms the fourth in a series of publications on the progress and challenges of Namibia's communal area conservancies. The initial book provided information up to 2003, a second booklet provided data for 2004, whilst a third book provided information up to 2005. This fourth booklet updates information on communal conservancies up to the end of 2006. Whilst this document focuses on the achievements of CBNRM in relation to wildlife and tourism, it also includes information on the 13 registered community forests in Namibia.
By the end of 2006, a total of 50 communal conservancies had been registered. Together these conservancies manage more than 118,704 km2 of communal land. About 220,620 people live within the conservancies. A steadily increasing area of all communal land in Namibia falls within registered conservancies (39.8%) and these conservancies now cover 14.4% of the total land area of Namibia. An additional 20 conservancies are in the process of fulfilling the requirements to apply for legal status.
Some of the key figures from the booklet are shown below.
For further information, or to obtain copies of the booklet, contact Namibia Nature Foundation, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism or the Namibia Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO)
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[11 Oct 2007]