Aid Effectiveness: A Case Study of Namibia's Community-Based Conservation Program
John Kasaona, Assistant Director, Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation (IRDNC). Presenter at this year's TED conference in California. Patricia Skyer, Team Leader for Conservation Partnerships for Sustainability in Southern Africa (COPASSA), WWF in Namibia
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Overview
Through a 16-year investment, the USAID-funded LIFE (Living in a Finite Environment) project, WWF, USAID, and other collaborators have assisted Namibian partners to conceive and develop one of the most innovative community conservation initiatives in the world. Today, Namibia's communal conservancy movement continues to grow and deliver development impacts in biodiversity conservation, improved livelihoods, civil society engagement, improved food security and resilience to climate change. Local communities have been empowered to manage resources for their own benefit, which has in turn led to the remarkable recovery of wildlife species, economic growth founded on market demand, partnerships with the private sector, and food security.
More than 16% of the country's surface area is managed by conservancies and one-eighth of its citizen's benefit from the conservancy movement. Annual programmatic income and benefits to community members have increased from nothing in 1994 to over $5.7 million in 2008. The strong linkages between conservation and development have resulted in the integration of the conservancy movement into Namibia's national level development strategies (i.e., National Development Plans II and III, Vision 2030, and National Poverty Alleviation Strategy). Today, the lessons learned from this program are being shared in east and southern Africa and distant places including Mongolia and the Northern Great Plains of North America.
Refreshments will be provided by WWF.
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Africa Program
The Africa Program works to address the most critical issues facing Africa and US-Africa relations, build mutually beneficial US-Africa relations, and enhance knowledge and understanding about Africa in the United States. The Program achieves its mission through in-depth research and analyses, public discussion, working groups, and briefings that bring together policymakers, practitioners, and subject matter experts to analyze and offer practical options for tackling key challenges in Africa and in US-Africa relations. Read more
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