National and Global Policies

Aligning Local Aspirations with National and Global Policies

In order to achieve their goals, local communities that engage in CBNRM need to operate within an enabling policy environment that is created at national, regional and international levels. Yet these communities often do not have the opportunities to engage with policy-makers at these levels.

Our network comprises institutions that link local communities with national governments in each of our countries. By uniting under the CLN banner, we can operate on these larger scales by reaching out to regional governing bodies (e.g. the Southern African Development Community) and engaging with relevant international institutions in the areas of sustainable development and biodiversity conservation.

When attending regional and international meetings and events, our representatives take care to present common issues that our local communities encounter that could be improved with policy-making, or object to new policies that would negatively affect these communities. The CLN thus draws from decades of experience working with our communities in our respective countries when critically evaluating proposed or existing policies and legislation that affect these communities’ interests.