A parliamentary oversight mission to the Zambezi, Kavango East and Kavango West regions has revealed that Namibia’s world-renowned Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) programme is at a critical crossroads.
While conservancies continue to generate millions for rural communities—over N$30 million in the Zambezi Region alone, the last financial year—the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Natural Resources said the system is being held back by outdated frameworks, weak governance, and an unhealthy dependence on trophy hunting.
This is according to the report that the committee submitted to Parliament regarding their oversight visit to conservancies in Zambezi, Kavango East and Kavango West regions.
The committee, which conducted its oversight visit from 11 to 15 August 2025, found that most conservancies remain stuck at an “elementary level,” unable to meet concession standards or develop professional hunting plans. T
This lack of expertise, it warned, is costing communities significant value from the wildlife and tourism sectors.
Despite being central to Namibia’s conservation success story since 1998, the CBNRM programme has not been modernised to reflect today’s rapidly changing economic and environmental landscape, according to the report.
It said that conservancies continue to operate under original frameworks that no longer address emerging threats such as escalating human-wildlife conflict, illegal timber harvesting, poaching, land encroachment, and increasing competition for land from other sectors.
One of the strongest findings was the overreliance on trophy hunting—a sector where conservancies have limited negotiating power and virtually no homegrown expertise.
The committee noted that, even after decades of operating within a tourism and wildlife economy, no conservancy or the environment ministry has produced a single Namibian professional trophy hunter. As a result, communities often negotiate with highly skilled concession applicants, leaving them vulnerable to unfavourable pricing and revenue arrangements.
Governance weaknesses further undermine progress. The report highlights persistent issues of nepotism, tribalism, weak management, and outdated communication structures. These gaps, combined with slow and inadequate compensation for human-wildlife conflict, have eroded community confidence and limited the ability of conservancies to diversify into new income streams such as tourism, non-timber forest products, and value-added enterprises.
The report also noted that land-use conflicts remain a pressing threat. Illegal fencing, encroachment into wildlife corridors, and settlements in core wildlife areas are increasingly common, disrupting ecosystems and escalating conflict between people and wildlife. The committee warned that poor land-use planning continues to undermine Namibia’s conservation objectives.
Despite these challenges, conservancies remain essential engines for rural development, funding education, social services, and community infrastructure. The committee emphasised their potential to foster self-reliance, support biodiversity, and strengthen local economies—if decisive reforms are undertaken.
Among its key recommendations, the committee called for the urgent realignment of the CBNRM framework, capacity building to enable conservancies to eventually run their own concessions, the development of a standardised trophy hunting pricing system, the establishment of professional hunters within each conservancy by 2026/2027, and stronger law enforcement against poaching, illegal timber harvesting, and land invasion.
The report makes it clear: Namibia’s conservancies are delivering value, but without modernisation, stronger governance, and diversified income streams, their long-term sustainability—and the communities that depend on them—remain at risk.
While conservancies continue to generate millions for rural communities—over N$30 million in the Zambezi Region alone, the last financial year—the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Natural Resources said the system is being held back by outdated frameworks, weak governance, and an unhealthy dependence on trophy hunting.
This is according to the report that the committee submitted to Parliament regarding their oversight visit to conservancies in Zambezi, Kavango East and Kavango West regions.
The committee, which conducted its oversight visit from 11 to 15 August 2025, found that most conservancies remain stuck at an “elementary level,” unable to meet concession standards or develop professional hunting plans. T
This lack of expertise, it warned, is costing communities significant value from the wildlife and tourism sectors.
Despite being central to Namibia’s conservation success story since 1998, the CBNRM programme has not been modernised to reflect today’s rapidly changing economic and environmental landscape, according to the report.
It said that conservancies continue to operate under original frameworks that no longer address emerging threats such as escalating human-wildlife conflict, illegal timber harvesting, poaching, land encroachment, and increasing competition for land from other sectors.
One of the strongest findings was the overreliance on trophy hunting—a sector where conservancies have limited negotiating power and virtually no homegrown expertise.
The committee noted that, even after decades of operating within a tourism and wildlife economy, no conservancy or the environment ministry has produced a single Namibian professional trophy hunter. As a result, communities often negotiate with highly skilled concession applicants, leaving them vulnerable to unfavourable pricing and revenue arrangements.
Governance weaknesses further undermine progress. The report highlights persistent issues of nepotism, tribalism, weak management, and outdated communication structures. These gaps, combined with slow and inadequate compensation for human-wildlife conflict, have eroded community confidence and limited the ability of conservancies to diversify into new income streams such as tourism, non-timber forest products, and value-added enterprises.
The report also noted that land-use conflicts remain a pressing threat. Illegal fencing, encroachment into wildlife corridors, and settlements in core wildlife areas are increasingly common, disrupting ecosystems and escalating conflict between people and wildlife. The committee warned that poor land-use planning continues to undermine Namibia’s conservation objectives.
Despite these challenges, conservancies remain essential engines for rural development, funding education, social services, and community infrastructure. The committee emphasised their potential to foster self-reliance, support biodiversity, and strengthen local economies—if decisive reforms are undertaken.
Among its key recommendations, the committee called for the urgent realignment of the CBNRM framework, capacity building to enable conservancies to eventually run their own concessions, the development of a standardised trophy hunting pricing system, the establishment of professional hunters within each conservancy by 2026/2027, and stronger law enforcement against poaching, illegal timber harvesting, and land invasion.
The report makes it clear: Namibia’s conservancies are delivering value, but without modernisation, stronger governance, and diversified income streams, their long-term sustainability—and the communities that depend on them—remain at risk.
