Tourism and Wildlife Concessions on State Land in Namibia

GRANTING tourism concessions and forming conservancies is an integral part of the sustainable utilisation of Namibia’s natural resources, a wildlife conservation model often acclaimed as one of the best in the world.

In 2007, the government adopted the Policy on Tourism and Wildlife Concessions on State Land.

It’s a good policy with noble intent and practical guidelines; a kind of do-it-yourself blueprint that outlines the objectives, types of concessions, and the processes of awarding and managing concessions.

The policy is administered and managed through the ministry of environment and tourism’s concession unit; the authority to grant concessions rests with the minister of environment and tourism.

The policy defines tourism concessions as rights – whether full, restricted, shared or exclusive – to conduct tourism activities, or to commercially use wildlife resources in proclaimed protected areas and any other state land for a specific period.

OBJECTIVES

State land is defined as land inside or outside protected areas that belongs to the state. It includes national parks, game parks, recreational areas, communal land, conservancies and community forests.

The central objective of tourism concessions and conservancies is the economic empowerment of formerly disadvantaged Namibians and rural communities living in and around protected areas.

They were envisaged as vehicles to provide access to tourism, hunting and indigenous plant and wildlife concessions.

Namibia’s tourism sector contributes meaningfully to employment creation and the national economy, especially when taking into account peripheral benefits and the multiplier effects of inter-related sub-sectors such as accommodation establishments, tour operators, retail shops, tour guides, community conservancies, professional hunting services and farms, craft producers, car rentals, cultural groups and catering services.

Other objectives include enhancing biodiversity conservation and the maintenance of the ecological integrity of protected areas and other state land.

They also entail promoting the allocation of concessions through equitable, competitive and transparent mechanisms that produce tourism products of a high standard; diversifying tourism options and attractions; and generating revenue for employment creation, conservation and poverty reduction.

POSSIBLE PITFALLS

It is difficult to discern shortcomings or weaknesses. However, problems, as with many realities in African environments, could arise in its execution and implementation as a lived daily experience.

Often analyses of events in African settings are done on excessively abstract levels, and on ill-defined notions and theoretical concepts, instead of analysing and implementing them as practical realities.

A perceived lack of fair, transparent and equal treatment (by not excluding others) and a disregard for governance and rules-based order are persistent concerns with regard to the policy.

There have been routine criticisms, court cases and disputes about perceived or real lack of fair, transparent and equitable processes in awarding tourism concessions.

These have primarily centred on the minister’s obligation to award concessions on a competitive basis.

To ensure fairness, the minister appoints a committee, comprised of ministry staff and other suitably knowledgeable people, to identify, award concessions in accordance with prescribed criteria, and aligned with the management objectives of the protected area (national park).

Other criteria, such as inter-personal relationships, family networks, clans and lineage, ought not to creep in.

That would suggest developing and upholding independent institutions, processes and systems to ensure transparent and equitable granting of concessions.

EFFECTIVENESS

One of the key institutions the policy provides for is a concession committee which might not be in place yet.

For the policy to meet its intended objectives, governance frameworks and separation of powers should be respected.

Political actors and other key influencers should not use informal, personalised measures and disregard policy and procedures to derive maximum personal profit from tourism concessions and conservancies.

The extent to which the objectives of tourism concessions are realised by citizens has to be measured against the extent to which formerly disadvantaged Namibians and rural communities benefit.

The extent to which the policy contributes to employment creation and poverty reduction is the true measure of the effectiveness of the Policy on Tourism and Wildlife Concessions on State Land.  
 

Matthias Ngwangwama is a former managing director of Namibia Wildlife Resorts Limited.

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