Namibia’s Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) programme has generated more than N$15 billion for the national economy since 1990, underlining the significant economic value of community conservation beyond its social and environmental benefits.
This is according to the 2023 State of Community Conservation Report, which aims to highlight the annual achievements and challenges experienced by rural communities in Namibia who are managing and benefiting from their natural resources.
According to the report, the programme contributed approximately N$1.075 billion in net national income (NNI) during 2023 alone through tourism, conservation hunting and related enterprises operating in communal conservancies across the country.
The NNI contribution refers to the value of goods and services generated annually through community conservation activities. Between 1990 and 2023, the cumulative NNI contribution of the programme reached an estimated N$15.2 billion, demonstrating the substantial role communal conservancies continue to play in Namibia’s broader economy.
According to the report, the programme’s economic returns have far exceeded total investments made by donors and support organisations over the same period. Cumulative investment into the programme is estimated at N$3.8 billion, meaning the economic contribution generated by CBNRM is approximately four times greater than the total funding invested.
The figures also account for the wider multiplier effects created by international tourists and trophy hunters visiting communal conservancies. These ripple effects extend into several sectors of the economy, including airlines, hotels, car rental companies, tourism operators and hunting enterprises linked to conservancies.
Additional economic activity is also generated through taxes, rentals and further spending driven by income earned within conservancy areas.
The report said that since its inception, the programme has recorded an economic internal rate of return of 18% and generated an estimated economic net present value of N$2.27 billion, highlighting what experts describe as a highly positive return on investment.
It said that investment into conservancies began before the first communal conservancies were officially gazetted in 1996, as communities were mobilised and community game guards received training under the CBNRM framework.
“Although programme investments exceeded economic returns during the early years, the initiative reached its break-even point in 2002 and has continued to generate increasing economic value since then.”
The report also noted that, beyond direct financial returns, the programme has also contributed to the recovery and management of wildlife populations across Namibia. While accurate population estimates remain difficult for some species, wildlife numbers have generally increased since 1990, despite recent drought conditions in northwestern Namibia causing some declines.
The programme also provides significant ecosystem services through the protection and management of plants and animals, although these benefits are difficult to quantify in monetary terms.
Experts note that the economic figures currently available likely represent only a partial estimate of the true value of CBNRM, as many environmental and ecological benefits remain difficult to measure financially.
The latest figures reinforce the growing importance of community conservation as both a rural development strategy and a major contributor to Namibia’s economy.
