06 Nov 2025

Chobe Enclave Conservation Trust (CECT) is a true testament that community involvement in managing natural resources cultivates economic benefits.

CECT was established 31 years ago through the Community Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) policy which champions natural resources beneficiation while instilling conservation principles for people to coexist with wildlife.

In their 2024 financial year the trusts generated a total income of P18.3 million, from which each of their five member villages received P2 million. Furthermore, in 2023 CECT generated P15.8 million, resulting in Mabele, Kavimba, Kachikau, Satau and Parakarungu each receiving P1.6 million.

These profits were accumulated from hunting, photographic concession fees, variable community fees generated from Ngoma Lodge revenue, general dealer sales, tractor income and brick-moulding sales.

In an interview, CECT general manager Mr Moses Sinchembe welcomed the newly-passed CBNRM Bill as a framework that would drive more economic benefits for communities to build more sustainable projects.

He stated that once it became a law, it would address issues of maladministration and conflicts that have engulfed Community Based Organisations (CBOs) for many years.

“As CECT our expectation is that the law will directly enhance governance, leadership and ensure consistent equitable beneficiation to improve livelihoods and achieve sustenance of natural resources.

Mr Sinchembe remarked that CECT like many other trusts encountered litigations, adding that he believed the law would address the problem. He said court cases required legal fees which caused financial strain with money that could have been spent on impactful community projects.

The manager said the law would stimulate more opportunities through the CBNRM office stationed at the Ministry of Environment and Tourism. He stated that this office was tasked with capacity building of CBOs, budget and fundraising mechanisms for optimum economic benefits.

Moreover, Mr Sinchembe said the fact that this would be enacted into law, CBOs would now operate under a legislative framework unlike in the past which exposed them to countless litigations.

He pointed out that the CBNRM office would ensure prudent management and accountability of community resources, which was lacking in many CBOs. Moreover, he said it would do away with outdated constitutions that have lost relevance, observing that the standardised constitution which would guide the formulation of new ones was a welcome development.

Highlighting their conservation strategies, the manager pointed said the CECT board comprised of a trans-boundary subcommittee charged with the responsibility of educating community on conservation.

He said CECT signed a transboundary Memorandum of Agreement with their Namibian counterparts, Salambala and Bamunu conservancies for joint patrols and conservation of natural resources along the shared border.

Passed by parliament in August 2025, the CBNRM Bill is a vehicle for natural resources conservation and an engine for sustainable communities. In his engagements with Chobe communities recently, Minister of Environment and Tourism Mr Wynter Mmolotsi said the Bill aimed to strengthen the CBNRM approach by providing governance for the use of resources and ensure optimum benefits for communities managing the natural resources.

He said the new law would use a standardised constitution for all CBOs to ensure natural resources were managed sustainably and that they benefitted communities that exist around such natural resources.

Mr Mmolotsi said the new law would eliminate conflicts and court cases, something which had become synonymous with CBOs countrywide. In an interview, the director of Okavango Research Institute Professor Joseph Mbaiwa lauded the CBNRM law as a framework that would help fight maladministration, conflict and corruption.

He stated that it was imperative that the administrative office facilitated and promoted capacity building for those sitting in the CBO boards to curb issues of maladministration and conflicts.

He expressed the view that CBNRM intended to empower communities to run the affairs of their trusts rather than delegating most powers to government administrators.

Professor Mbaiwa highlighted the need for capacity building, saying it would empower CBOs to understand the tourism market to ensure they make appropriate decisions to benefit communities.

He indicated that the CBNRM office should manage and investigate investors who partnered with CBOs because in many instances they incited conflict between communities in order for them to benefit.

The director underscored that once the law was enacted it should provide for a society for licensing and regulation of CBOs as a way to cement empowerment drive for CBOs. ENDS