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Launch of Grant Projects to enhance governance of the Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) sector
The European Union (EU) together with Namibia Nature Foundation, Nyae Nyae Development Foundation of Namibia and Namibia Development Trust is pleased to announce the formal launching of 2 EU grants that will take place on 13 March, 10h00 at the Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organizations (Nacso) Board Room, 19 Lossen Street, Windhoek.
The EU has recently approved 2 grants to organisations working to improve governance in Namibia’s Community-Based Natural Resource Management Sector (CBNRM).
Since the development of the national policy of CBNRM in 2013, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism has developed guidelines and standard operating procedures for conservancy management in order to help conservancies to comply with common standards. There are however qualitative differences between conservancies' performance and management. Furthermore, communities' institutional and managerial capacities are often limited and impede them from reaching their full potential, which in turn may have negative consequences for both rural development and conservation efforts.
In recent years, the governance of conservancies and other CBNRM structures has come under increasing scrutiny and support is needed to improve transparency and community involvement in decision making and accountability within CBNRM. In this context, the EU decided to provide support to improve governance of the national Community Based Natural Resource Management Programme and to improve the participation of CSOs in governance and development.
The first grant (€ 798,000.00) has been awarded to a consortium consisting of the Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF), Namibia Development Trust (NDT) and Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation (IRDNC), who will focus on improving equitable benefit distribution through enhanced accountability of management structures and active community inclusion in decision making. This will involve working with Conservancies and their members to develop a good governance culture, improving conservancy management capacities and working with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism to support better monitoring and adaptive management in relation to governance.
The second grant (€ 436,817.70) has been awarded to Nyae Nyae Development Foundation of Namibia, to improve the management/leadership, community participation and visibility of the most marginalised and vulnerable indigenous San conservancies (Nyae Nyae and Na Jaqna).
All these organisations are members of NACSO whose collective goal is to work in close collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, to bring together technical expertise and resources, to address systemic issues in the CBNRM programme.
Grant receiving organisations
Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF)
NNF the lead applicant of the consortium, is Namibia’s leading conservation and sustainable development NGO and contributes to a wide range of conservation and sustainable development programmes in Namibia through their core technical specialties and their expertise in financial and project management. The NNF’s core thematic areas include social ecosystems, natural ecosystems and biodiversity, productive land and seascapes and global environmental issues. NNF supports 20 conservancies in the Erongo, Omaheke, Kunene (South) and the Kavango Regions.
Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation (IRDNC)
IRDNC co-applicant, is Namibia’s largest conservancy support organisation. It works to improve the lives of rural people by diversifying the socio-economy in Namibia’s communal areas to include wildlife and other valuable natural resources. IRDNC’s approach focuses on building relationships, tackling critical natural resource issues, strengthening local capacity and skills, learning and sharing lessons, involving women, promoting accountability and adding economical value. IRDNC directly supports 46 conservancies in the Kunene (North), Kavango East and Zambezi Regions by providing technical support to conservancies including training in natural resources management, community capacity building, institutional and economic development, and financial and logistical assistance.
The Namibia Development Trust (NDT)
NDT, co-applicant, works with historically marginalised rural and urban communities to build their power to act for social change, through capacity building initiatives. Their core work focuses on rural organisational capacity building by organising the rural poor, promoting a people-centred develop¬ment approach, facilitating coordination of development activities and ensuring operational sustainability. NDT over the years supported up to 17 conservancies in North Central, Otjozondjupa and Southern Namibia.
Nyae Nyae Development Foundation of Namibia (NNDFN)
NNDFN works specifically with the indigenous Ju/’hoansi and !Kung San in Nyae Nyae and Na Jaqna Conservancies. For over 40 years NNDFN has raised funds in order to support the San in the fields of Land and Human Rights, and the sustainable use of natural resources, with the goal of empowering the San to improve their quality of life economically and socially.
This project is funded by the EU
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