19 Mar 2015

The Deputy Permanent Secretary (DPS) in the Ministry of Environment Wildlife and Tourism (MEWT), Mr Felix Monggae, has said the Community Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) is a proven model, but needs interventions to be a success.

Presenting a paper on CBNRM at a three-day symposium on wetlands and wildlife in Maun on March 18, Mr Monggae said CBNRM had been referred to as the “rights based” approach to empowering communities.

However, Mr Monggae said there was need for continuous training of communities to ensure sustainability of CBNRM. He said it was evident that the communities could not manage CBNRM effectively without proper training and support.

Mr Monggae noted that initially, the communities managed natural resources traditionally, using indigenous knowledge while CBNRM changed the community management to a formal set up. The key to community natural resource management, he said is that the communities benefit and have direct control of their resources.

“The emergence of sustainable use followed the insight that the future of wildlife lay in the hands of the people who lived with it,” he said. In Botswana, he said the CBNRM policy was revisited in 2007 to facilitate the effective participatory implementation of the policy and to determine institutional capacity and strengthening needs.

Mr Monggae further said CBNRM policy’ success was not accidental, since it was based on developed theory and dependent on tailored policies, however he said the major challenge was community governance if not implemented properly. Issues such as lack of a strong foundation to adapt and withstand new perspectives could result in failure of CBNRM, he said.

Mr Monggae therefore recommended that communities involved in the current CBNRM need support in capacity building, business development, conservation and development, conservation and sustainability and diversifying the CBNRM product amongst others.

“CBNRM cannot stand alone and needs higher level dialogue among other sectors which is missing,” he stated. He pointed that CBNRM was transitional because it dealt with livelihoods therefore there was need to keep learning to ensure CBNRM remained relevant. ENDS