| Notes From the Field | |
A First of its Kind! Community-based Natural Resource Management Stocktaking Workshop held in Southern Africa
by Mwape Sichilongo, WWF
 | Workshop participants deep in discussion
Photo Credit: Mwape Sichilongo
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A growing wildlife-based rural economy, improved resource rights enshrined in policy, good governance through improved participation, and secured landscapes for natural resource management creating opportunities for climate change adaptation and resilience are some of the main impacts of community based natural resource management (CBNRM) in the southern Africa region identified at a recent Regional CBNRM Stocktaking Workshop, held in Johannesburg, South Africa on November 10th and 11th..
The extent to which the above translates into reality depends on, among other things, an inclusive process facilitating community participation, devolution of rights, benefit sharing and wealth creation through jobs and enterprises.
The workshop was held to conclude CBNRM stocktaking exercises undertaken under the NORAD funded Regional CBNRM Capacity Building Programme for Southern Africa with its USAID funded sister programmes Conservation Partnerships for Sustainability in Southern Africa (COPASSA). and Capitalizing Knowledge, Connecting Communities (CK2C). The first two programmes have facilitated the setting up of national CBNRM Forums in Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe as well as the regional Southern African CBNRM Forum. Fifty-three (53) delegates attended the meeting representing communities, traditional leaders, NGOs, Academic Institutions, Government Departments and the private sector.
Providing a fresh new approach, the CBNRM stocktaking workshop provided a platform for the consolidation of six country-level CBNRM stocktaking reports into one regional report. Participating countries reviewed CBNRM in their countries in terms of its history, scale, impacts, lessons learned, best practices, challenges, opportunities and national priorities.
 | Mr Mutuso Dhliwayo, Chair of the Southern African CBNRM Forum presenting at the workshop
Photo Credit: Mwape Sichilongo
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One of the main lessons emerging is that impacts of proper CBNRM depend on adequate devolution of responsibility and accountability through guaranteed community rights to land and resources. Other lessons point to the need for dedicated capacity building especially in good governance and monitoring, while the delivery of tangible benefits and involvement of local leadership improve the chances of sustainability.
Joint ventures with the private sector that build capacity and resilience in local structures and local-level value addition were identified among the best practices. Private- public partnerships, which increased investment and policy harmonization that recognizes communities as resource producers and managers, have facilitated the scaling up of CBNRM in the region.
In spite of the significant impacts identified, inadequate policy, poor incentive mechanisms, inadequate land use planning and poor natural resource governance pose the greatest barriers to the development of CBNRM.
These snapshot findings constitute a baseline which will be updated regularly as part of a CBNRM Status Reporting Mechanism to inform awareness raising, advocacy and intervention design.
To read the draft consolidated report of CBNRM in Southern Africa, click here.
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| Take A Look |
Expand your knowledge on Community Based Natural Resource Management with these helpful resources .  The Evidence Base for Community Forest Management as a Mechanism for Supplying Global Environmental Benefits and Improving Local Welfare
This STAP advisory document summarizes the evidence base for the effectiveness of CFM initiatives in generating global, national, regional and local environmental benefits. It also summarizes evidence related to the socioeconomic impacts on participants. The report asks 'Does Community Forest Management supply global environmental and local welfare benefits in less developed countries?'It was reviewed by two external reviewers, STAP panel members and STAP Secretariat staff. Threats to effectiveness are identified, the sheer lack of studies on this topic is highlighted, and financing for global environmental benefit is considered. The report also provides recommendations.
Click here to access the document.  Community Management of Natural Resources in Africa
The International Institute for Environmental Development (IIED) has written a publication that addresses success factors for CBNRM and how to address challenges that will occur. In order to address these challenges and develop more resilient and sustainable
models for CBNRM in its diverse and variable African contexts, the report highlights a number of key findings based on experiences of CBNRM to date. The findings are: CBNRM represents a spectrum of management from traditional to modern; CBNRM should explicitly embrace development and conservation objectives; Focus on demand driven collective management arrangements; Tenure and rights do not guarantee conventional conservation outcomes; Improved indicators and better monitoring by communities are needed; and Lessons and linkages between CBNRM and REDD are important. The report also details the need for stakeholder engagement and details the roles for donors, civil society, governments, and the private sector. Click here to read the report.
USAID Environmental Guidelines for Small-Scale Activities in Africa (EGSSAA)
Chapter 2: Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) USAID has put out a larger report focused on the broader topic of small-scale activities in the environmental sector in Africa, but this particular chapter is especially focused on CBNRM. Definitions and principles behind CBNRM lead off the chapter. The sections that follow include where and how it can be practiced, some illustrative examples, conditions and elements for successful CBNRM implementation, challenges, questions for establishing CBNRM, environmental screening and a comparative framework for CBNRM. The chapter also includes a long list of helpful resources at the end. To view the chapter from the report, click here. Community-based natural resource management: How knowledge is managed, disseminated and used Community-based natural resource management was the focus of over 80 percent of IFAD-approved programmes and projects for 2000-2004. These programmes and projects addressed a wide range of natural resource development issues - land, water, forests, rangeland, fisheries and rural institutions. Gender, governance, culture and partnership also assumed greater roles. Central to this process of development are the concepts of learning to learn and sharing knowledge. In this publication, IFAD shares its learning on community-based natural resource development. Twelve case studies from recent lending programmes and grants demonstrate how knowledge is managed, disseminated and effectively used by others. They show that people can learn to learn and that learning is crucial to reducing poverty and to meeting the development challenges ahead. Click here to read the report.
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New on FRAMEweb
|  You may have noticed a new icon on the homepage of FRAMEweb. Starting at the end of November 2011, FRAMEweb introduced a new blog with posts every week. The blog will help keep you up to date on new articles and discussions happening around the site, include tips on how best to participate and get the most out of your communities, and share interesting topics in NRM as they come up.
We'll be sending out the first 3 installments of this blog to everyone on FRAMEweb and encourage you to subscribe to it. You'll also be able to find the blog in the new FRAMEweb Help community and on the homepage.
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Experts on FRAMEweb
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Find a CBNRM specialist on FRAMEweb.
Log-in to FRAMEweb and click on the link below to find more than 100 experts on FRAMEweb related to CBNRM. Note: you won't see the results until you are logged in!
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| Featured Member! |
Featured Member FRAMEgram features a member in the newsletter who has been exceptionally active!  This section will also give you a chance to learn more about other FRAMEweb members. This Edition's Featured Member is...  Abu-Bakar Massaquoi* - Communications & Outreach Coordinator, STEWARD Program I am the Communications and Outreach Coordinator at the USAID- funded and US Forest Service (IP) implemented Sustainable and Thriving Environment for West African Regional Development (STEWARD) Program. My current role involves providing collaborative, community-based solutions and managing regional networks that connect people and ideas which foster innovation to support sustainable natural resources management in our Priority Zones in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Ivory Coast. At the local level, the program has helped build strong rural community mindsets about conserving and restoring ecosystems. Across communities, we have built networks that advance best practices and create a strong collective voice for community-based land stewardship. At the state and policy level we have presented policy solutions that strengthen investment in sustainable natural resource management and alternative livelihoods. I use FRAMEweb to learn from success stories of other communities of practice and enjoy judging their relevance and applicability to our work. I have found every FRAMEweb material or FRAMEgram newsletter a rewarding experience that I couldn't find anywhere else. The site has been particularly useful in providing an ample space for debating and networking with our local, regional, and international audiences. I will continue to use my role to support FRAMEweb in its service as a major hub for sharing information and exchanging knowledge. * To see Abu-Bakar's profile, login at the prompt when you click his name.
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