‘Community conservation working’

GIVING local communities ownership of their natural resources has proved to be a successful way of managing wildlife, which is evidenced by growing animal populations.

“Especially huntable animals are being well managed. The country’s community-based system is one of the best in the world,” visiting graduate student Unn Jenny Utne Kvam told a seminar last week.Some protected species, such as lions, cheetahs and elephants, are sometimes seen as problem animals because they can cause financial losses for farmers.However, Utne Kvam believes a sustainable solution can be found in tourism.”Communal areas can be made self-sufficient conservancies.If there is an elephant causing problems, a conservancy with an elephant quota can decide whether to kill it immediately or to bring in a trophy hunter to shoot it.In the latter way the conservancy can raise some money to pay compensation to farmers.”At the moment there are five self-funding conservancies in Namibia.It proves that a decentralised policy can work, and the main question is to get more of them.However, some areas will probably never be self-sufficient.The problem may be that the area has less attractive animals, or the landscape there doesn’t attract tourists,” she said.Still, there were problems to be solved.Although in some areas conservancies negotiated prices for cattle killed by predators, there was still no successful way to measure the value of lost crops.She noted that founding new conservancies required investments or donations.Further, it could take up to 10 years for animal populations to grow big enough to make a conservancy self-funding.Namibia is the first country where Utne Kvam has carried out her study.She will later compare her findings in Namibia with South Africa, Norway and Sweden.”The countries are very different, but the problems they face are similar.For example, in Norway wolves have been killing sheep, and moose have caused losses to forest owners by eating buds from trees,” Utne Kvam says.”On the other hand, in Norway we can have fences to keep animals away from certain areas, but I think they wouldn’t stop elephants.”The country’s community-based system is one of the best in the world,” visiting graduate student Unn Jenny Utne Kvam told a seminar last week. Some protected species, such as lions, cheetahs and elephants, are sometimes seen as problem animals because they can cause financial losses for farmers.However, Utne Kvam believes a sustainable solution can be found in tourism.”Communal areas can be made self-sufficient conservancies.If there is an elephant causing problems, a conservancy with an elephant quota can decide whether to kill it immediately or to bring in a trophy hunter to shoot it.In the latter way the conservancy can raise some money to pay compensation to farmers.”At the moment there are five self-funding conservancies in Namibia.It proves that a decentralised policy can work, and the main question is to get more of them.However, some areas will probably never be self-sufficient.The problem may be that the area has less attractive animals, or the landscape there doesn’t attract tourists,” she said.Still, there were problems to be solved.Although in some areas conservancies negotiated prices for cattle killed by predators, there was still no successful way to measure the value of lost crops.She noted that founding new conservancies required investments or donations.Further, it could take up to 10 years for animal populations to grow big enough to make a conservancy self-funding.Namibia is the first country where Utne Kvam has carried out her study.She will later compare her findings in Namibia with South Africa, Norway and Sweden.”The countries are very different, but the problems they face are similar.For example, in Norway wolves have been killing sheep, and moose have caused losses to forest owners by eating buds from trees,” Utne Kvam says.”On the other hand, in Norway we can have fences to keep animals away from certain areas, but I think they wouldn’t stop elephants.”