19/08/2005 – Government
officials and environmentalists in Zambia
attended a ceremony marking the launch of
the country’s first forum to address community-based
natural resources management.
“The significance of the launch is that this
platform will galvanize partnerships for conservation
and development,” said Morse Nanchengwa, a
project manager with the WWF Southern Africa
Regional Programme Office, based in Harare,
Zimbabwe.
“Through this forum, local communities, government,
and the private sector can now collaborate
and pool resources to support sustainable
management of natural resources at the household
level.”
The objectives of the community-based natural
resources management (CBNRM) forum will seek
to promote and develop community based approaches
to wise-use and sustainable management of
natural resources in order to achieve rural
development and improve livelihoods. The forum
will also facilitate dialogue among all relevant
stakeholders as well as develop and adopt
best practices for sustainable utilization
and management of natural resources in the
country particularly in sectors such as forestry,
water, wetlands, fisheries, and wildlife.
“The rationale for community involvement
in natural resources management is based on
the premise that local communities that derive
direct benefit from managing natural resources
will protect those resources,” Nanchengwa
added.
The forum is a culmination of many years
of work and consultation among various stakeholders
in the country, including WWF, tracing as
far back to 1985 when Zambia’s national conservation
strategy was finalized, as well as in 1994
with the country’s National Environment Action
Plan of 1994.
“Zambia is about the only country in the
region, albeit still in its infancy, that
CBNRM stakeholders have opted for a civil-society
led body to promote conservation and development,”
said Nanchengwa.
“Lessons from Zambia will be shared with
Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South
Africa, and Zimbabwe. This way we can apply
regional performance standards for conservation
and development.”
