Viewed from space, the world-famous Okavango Delta looks like a large pan attached to a handle – the Okavango River. The ‘pan-handle’ area includes villages along the western and eastern banks of the river – those on the west are located near a tar road that connects Namibia with northern Botswana. Those on the east have a dirt road that connects with the west over one river crossing, which until very recently (a bridge built in 2022) involved crossing the Okavango River using a pontoon.
Nature conservation is driven by passionate individuals who see the dangers of unsustainable and destructive human activities more clearly than others. When these people are recognised and empowered, their efforts can change local practices and perceptions that create a sustainable future for all.
Natiora Defenders, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) founded in early 2024, champions and showcases the work of conservation leaders and heroes in Madagascar. In May 2024, the first cohort of Ocean Defenders was announced. This cohort, comprising seven men and three women, was named Akio Foty – Great White Shark – for their relentless, fearless defence of the ocean.
The Community Leaders Network and Resource Africa recently attended the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) Summit held in Livingstone, Zambia.
By Liberty Chauke
Zimbabwe’s Community Areas Management Program For Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE) programme was the first of its kind in southern Africa, whereby people living with wildlife became beneficiaries of the sustainable use of wildlife in their areas.
Communities living around Kasungu National Park in Malawi traditionally grow maize to feed their families and a few other cash crops to generate income. High poverty levels and declining soil fertility have driven some community members into the neighbouring park to clear more land, hunt wildlife or harvest wood illegally to make ends meet. Kasungu Wildlife Conservation and Community Development Association (KAWICCODA) have started a transformative project with support from the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management (BIOPAMA) Programme to help change this situation using soybeans.
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Zimbabwe’s Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE) was created in the 1980’s as an important conservation and rural development tool, particularly for the country’s wildlife-rich areas and semi-arid regions, which have very low agricultural potential.
Luengue-Luiana National Park in Angola is part of the Kavango-Zambezi Trans-frontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA) that covers parts of five African countries (Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe). This Park covers 22,610 km², and is patrolled by government rangers and 27 community game guards trained by ACADIR-Angola. This national park is not exclusively for animals, however, as 49,300 people currently live within its boundaries. In line with the other KAZA TFCA countries, Angola wants to develop a wildlife economy that will support people and wildlife living in this landscape.
Community conservation efforts in Southern Africa started in the 1980s and have since taken slightly different paths towards including rural communities in the wildlife economy and nature conservation. Over the years there have been some exchange visits and other events to increase communication among the community conservation stakeholders in these countries, but such opportunities remain rare.