Namibia's community-based natural resource management programme: an unrecognized payments for ecosystem services scheme

Abstract

SUMMARYPayments for ecosystem services (PES) programmes are widely recognized as novel and innovative mechanisms that seek to promote the conservation of biodiversity while simultaneously improving human livelihoods. A number of national-level PES programmes have made significant contributions to advancing knowledge of these mechanisms. Namibia's community-based natural resources management (CBNRM) programme effectively operates as one such large-scale PES programme, making it one of the world's longest-standing schemes. In this review, Namibia's CBNRM scheme is compared and contrasted with the formal definition of a PES programme, some of the outcomes that the programme has produced illustrated by examples, and the challenges that must still be faced identified. Most of the requirements for a PES programme are present in Namibia's CBNRM programme, and when it does not meet these criteria, it is not exceptional. Notwithstanding the increases in wildlife populations and financial benefits that have been associated with the programme, a major challenge going forward revolves around diversifying the number of services produced. Namibia's CBNRM programme has much to contribute to the design of large-scale PES schemes.

Revisiting the concept of payments for environmental services

“…This fits with the observation that some community-based ecotourism programs clearly fit the five PES criteria from Wunder (2005), yet the externality problem does not call for the typical PES contract (Naidoo et al, 2011). The implication is that the spatial divide between ES provision and use is decisive: the subset of offsite externalities (e.g.…”

Estimating economic losses to tourism in Africa from the illegal killing of elephants

“…In particular, it will be fundamental to ensure that local communities and landholders are sufficiently incentivized to embrace living alongside elephants, or at minimum, are sufficiently compensated so as to not collaborate with poaching syndicates (for example, see www.ecoexistproject.org)41. Although there is a long history of nature-based tourism benefits not reaching local communities42, recent experiences in African elephant range countries have demonstrated some successes in the devolution and capture of benefits from local natural resource management4344. Ensuring that those who live with elephants are sufficiently compensated and motivated to do so, whether via tourism or other avenues, will play a central role in the success or failure of Africa's elephant conservation efforts.…”

Complementary benefits of tourism and hunting to communal conservancies in Namibia

“…Namibia's CBNRM program is widely recognized as having contributed to a strong recovery of wildlife in large parts of the country, through the creation of social and economic incentives for the sustainable coexistence of wildlife and people on communal lands (Owen‐Smith ; Naidoo et al. ; NACSO ). Additionally, the principles used to incentivize communities to steward wildlife across very large spatial scales are already being adopted by numerous other countries in Africa and beyond (NACSO ).…”