Environment minister Pohamba Shifeta said Friday that Namibia has adopted a number of innovative strategies to achieve biodiversity conservation within the framework of national development plans and poverty reduction.
In his keynote address during the official launch of the Otjindjerese, Otjikongo and Ombombo Masitu Conrsevancies in Kunene Region, Shifeta said one of the strategies is the Community-based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) Programme, which allows for the formation of communal conservancies through which rural communities have gained rights over management of wildlife and tourism.
Otjindjerese and Otjikongo was officially declared as a conservancy on the 3rd of August 2018 in the Government Gazzette while Ombombo Masitu was declared and gazetted in 2014.
These conservancies have diverse wildlife resources, particularly elephant and kudus.
Creation of tourism facilities will offer great opportunities to these communities as the areas offer beautiful scenery for tourist.
“CBNRM programme provides a number of incentives to rural communities who are managing these natural resources and generate income from the sustainable utilization of wildlife and tourism management,” Shifeta said.
According to the minister, due to the commitment shown by rural communities, there has been a remarkable recovery and increase of wildlife populations, including key species such as lions, elephant and black rhinoceros.
Shifeta further said that the Natural Resource Conservation and Management serve as an integral part of the Namibian economy and that the Kunene Region is blessed with an abundance of unique plants and animals, beautiful natural landscapes and a diverse culture of people, which, when combined has the potential to help conservation and ultimately carry significant economic
rewards for the local community.
With these diverse resources, he added, combined with hard work and commitment by the community, he had no doubt that these conservancies and the Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) approach as a whole will continue to be a success in this region and many people will benefit and improve on their livelihoods and welfare through this approach.
Sound practices such as planning, managing, monitoring and evaluation, the minister said are core and key aspects of conservancy activities needed for management and sustainable use of our natural resources.
“Let me also acknowledge that despite all the successes and benefits from the
Conservancy Programme, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism recognizes that living with wildlife often carries a cost,” he said, adding that most Namibians depend on the land for their subsistence.
However, Shifeta said, innovative mechanisms are being created to reduce the level of human wildlife conflict, to ensure that benefits of conservation management far outweighs the costs, and to build on the significant successes in managing human wildlife conflict.
