Focus on conservancies’ success at Scientific Society next week
The Namibia Scientific Society (NSS) hosts a presentation by Chris Weaver and Maxi Louis on Communal Conservancies – The Competitiveness of Wildlife as an Integrated Land-Use, next Tuesday (27 September).
Wildlife across Africa is under growing threat. Poaching of highly visible species such as elephant and rhino receive much attention in the global media, but the greatest long-term threats to Africa’s wildlife are loss of habitat, retaliatory killings as a result of human wildlife conflict, illegal bushmeat trade, and lack of incentives for rural communities to live with wildlife.
Government has responded to this situation in an innovative way, by devolving rights to wildlife and tourism to rural communities who form communal conservancies. Since registration of the first four communal conservancies in 1998, the number of communal conservancies has risen to 83, placing an additional 162 033 km of Namibia’s land under improved wildlife conservation.
In the past 17 years, rural Namibian communities have increasingly recognised the social and economic contributions of wildlife, catalysing an ongoing recovery of wildlife populations across vast tracts of Namibia’s communal lands.
This talk will highlight how Namibia’s communal conservancies have assisted communities to harness the value of wildlife to generate an income, employment opportunities, development projects, and conservation benefits as a means of incentivizing rural communities to integrate wildlife as a competitive integrated land-use with other subsistence forms of livelihood welfare.
Chris Weaver, Managing Director of WWF (World Wildlife Fund) in Namibia, is a well-respected common property natural resources management specialist, having extensive involvement in the technical implementation and managerial aspects of a suite of natural resource projects and programmes.
Weaver has 38 years of experience working with communities, assisting them in finding innovative ways of addressing common property management issues North America, Africa, and Central Asia.
Starting his career in the southwest United States in 1977, Weaver worked with several Native American Tribes (i.e., Navaho, Hopi, Apache, Tohono O’odham), federal agencies and private landowners on the conduct of natural resource inventories, management plans, and environmental impact assessments.
From 1982-1992, he worked in Lesotho where he assisted pastoral communities to gain from improved rangeland, livestock, and agricultural practices. In 1993, Weaver moved to Namibia to work for the WWF where he serves as the Managing Director for its Namibia programme. During his tenure in Namibia, Weaver has assisted stakeholders (government, NGOs, communities and private sector) to establish the internationally renowned communal conservancy movement.
With 82 conservancies covering more than 162 000 km² and engaging almost 9% of Namibia’s population, Namibia’s communal conservancy movement is seen by many as one of the leading community conservation efforts in the world.
Maxi Pia-Louis is Director of the Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO). Her background is tourism and conservation. In 1995, she co-founded the Namibia Community Based Tourism Association (NACOBTA) and was Director of the association for nine years.
Pia-Louis joined NACSO 2005 as Secretariat Coordinator and her current activities include coordinating NACSO’s three main thematic working groups and nine non-profit organisations, as well as researchers and consultants working in the field of CBNRM.
She is also involved in communication and creates linkages with partners and decision makers including parliamentarians, government ministries and other stakeholders.
All are welcome to attend the event that starts at 19:30 at the NSS at 110 Robert Mugabe Ave (opposite the National Theatre). Safe parking is available in the yard from the Love Street entrance.
Wildlife across Africa is under growing threat. Poaching of highly visible species such as elephant and rhino receive much attention in the global media, but the greatest long-term threats to Africa’s wildlife are loss of habitat, retaliatory killings as a result of human wildlife conflict, illegal bushmeat trade, and lack of incentives for rural communities to live with wildlife.
Government has responded to this situation in an innovative way, by devolving rights to wildlife and tourism to rural communities who form communal conservancies. Since registration of the first four communal conservancies in 1998, the number of communal conservancies has risen to 83, placing an additional 162 033 km of Namibia’s land under improved wildlife conservation.
In the past 17 years, rural Namibian communities have increasingly recognised the social and economic contributions of wildlife, catalysing an ongoing recovery of wildlife populations across vast tracts of Namibia’s communal lands.
This talk will highlight how Namibia’s communal conservancies have assisted communities to harness the value of wildlife to generate an income, employment opportunities, development projects, and conservation benefits as a means of incentivizing rural communities to integrate wildlife as a competitive integrated land-use with other subsistence forms of livelihood welfare.
Chris Weaver, Managing Director of WWF (World Wildlife Fund) in Namibia, is a well-respected common property natural resources management specialist, having extensive involvement in the technical implementation and managerial aspects of a suite of natural resource projects and programmes.
Weaver has 38 years of experience working with communities, assisting them in finding innovative ways of addressing common property management issues North America, Africa, and Central Asia.
Starting his career in the southwest United States in 1977, Weaver worked with several Native American Tribes (i.e., Navaho, Hopi, Apache, Tohono O’odham), federal agencies and private landowners on the conduct of natural resource inventories, management plans, and environmental impact assessments.
From 1982-1992, he worked in Lesotho where he assisted pastoral communities to gain from improved rangeland, livestock, and agricultural practices. In 1993, Weaver moved to Namibia to work for the WWF where he serves as the Managing Director for its Namibia programme. During his tenure in Namibia, Weaver has assisted stakeholders (government, NGOs, communities and private sector) to establish the internationally renowned communal conservancy movement.
With 82 conservancies covering more than 162 000 km² and engaging almost 9% of Namibia’s population, Namibia’s communal conservancy movement is seen by many as one of the leading community conservation efforts in the world.
Maxi Pia-Louis is Director of the Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO). Her background is tourism and conservation. In 1995, she co-founded the Namibia Community Based Tourism Association (NACOBTA) and was Director of the association for nine years.
Pia-Louis joined NACSO 2005 as Secretariat Coordinator and her current activities include coordinating NACSO’s three main thematic working groups and nine non-profit organisations, as well as researchers and consultants working in the field of CBNRM.
She is also involved in communication and creates linkages with partners and decision makers including parliamentarians, government ministries and other stakeholders.
All are welcome to attend the event that starts at 19:30 at the NSS at 110 Robert Mugabe Ave (opposite the National Theatre). Safe parking is available in the yard from the Love Street entrance.
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