Future of the ADMADE program

ambia is at a crossroads.  Many challenges remain for Zambia to achieve nationwide growth and awareness in resource conservation and rural development.  To meet these challenges head-on, Zambia must assess its previous successes and failures.  Degrees of success vary greatly and leaders and practitioners helping to expand the ADMADE approach must learn from these past experiences to ensure results improve and become more predictable.  ADMADE is a national program that has spread into most provinces of the country with almost universal appeal and support among its community constituents.   It is also politically accepted among it national leaders, who view it as a positive approach for decentralizing Government authority over the use and management of natural resources.  Furthermore, it has begun to fuel renewed confidence among private investors for wildlife tourism in Zambia and in game management areas in particular. 

here is no doubt, with such broad support, that Zambia has an exciting and promising approach to conservation that is distinctly African.  As Africa struggles to achieve stability and democracy among its sister States, models of success for developing wildlife and other renewable resources as an economic solution for rural development will be greatly needed.  Zambia's CBNRM program may be one of the better models in this regard, but its ultimate success will likely depend on how well its national leaders apply the lessons and experiences of CBNRM into continued policy reform and program implementation.  The political will for doing so is essential for demonstrating that conservation and rural development can coexist, a challenge that will most certainly shape the kind of world future Zambian generations will inherit.

BNRM holds promise for conservation in Africa.  The ADMADE program is at a critical threshold for expanding its significance to both rural development and natural resource conservation by utilizing a solid foundation of experience and institutional support groups.  It is also helping to redefine conservation and its link to human needs on African terms and promises to teach the global community much about the role communities can play in responding to the management needs of renewable resources.  For Zambia ...

here are reasons to be cautious about the full success ADMADE will achieve.  One, many areas of Zambia where CBNRM is needed the program has yet to penetrate.  Two, some areas where CBNRM was introduced training support has been inadequate and communities lack sufficient skills and confidence to effectively implement the program. And three, numerous cases exist where the government interferes with the full economic returns of wildlife to its community producers.

owever, in the areas where community skills are properly taught and income earnings are returned in a timely way to support community needs, there is a growing body of evidence to support ADMADE's success. This underscores the critical importance of ZAWA's own college, the African College for CBNRM, for developing effective community leaders and well skilled household groups to manage natural resources and benefit legally from them.  

 tourism economy, and the promises of improved prosperity, is only possible if Zambia can develop a competitive advantage for its wildlife production in a global market and compete successfully.  Some important if not critical elements to the overall success of CBNRM and wildlife conservation in Zambia are:

There is great concern that further delay in supporting critically needed start-up costs for communities committed to introducing CBNRM into their area will lead to depletion of wildlife resources and possibly permanent loss of any future opportunity to develop wildlife as a cash crop for rural income.  A number of GMA's have a high wildlife potential in terms of habitat available and species present but need urgent support to allow the community-based process to rebuild the revenue-earning capacity for these areas.  Critical start-up investments for introducing CBNRM varies depending on revenues an area is currently sustaining; areas lacking any income, but where viability for recovery is strong, investment costs total around $75,000.

Monitoring results show certain large mammal species in various areas have probably declined.  Cause for this is not absolutely clear, though it is likely that both legal and illegal hunting are contributing factors.  Species-specific research is needed to ensure current hunting pressures are advisable and whether additional management steps are required to improve population performance.  It is beneficial if such research combines a component of community participation to ensure local Community Resource Board authorities maintain long-term monitoring of species under study.

The ZAWA Board has considerable influence on how CBNRM is interpreted and supported with appropriate policies.  They are in essence a central communication engine for communities, donors, government and private sector--all parties involved with CBNRM.  Their role is crucial for building consolidation and consensus for how best to apply ADMADE lessons and results for continued program strengthening.

A high level of transparency and professionalism in supporting communities with financial information and services, including the transfer of CBNRM earnings is necessary for the programs growth and acceptance in Zambia's communities.  A set of checks and balances for conservation funds disbursement will ultimately lead to improved ADMADE performance and increased wildlife production.

Past efforts to tender hunting concessions to safari operators in CBNRM areas have been plagued with political interference and lack of transparency in how companies are selected.  This has resulted in lost revenues to the community and some operators 'feeling' immune to fulfilling their obligations to their community partners.  As a result, CBNRM has had little success in these areas.  For this reason transparency and professionalism are very important components of the community-private sector link, and also for CBNRM success.

CBNRM consists of several stakeholders, the primary ones are the communities themselves though their legally instituted CRB's, Zambian Wildlife Authority, and private sector groups.  Others include relevant Government departments, local NGO's, international NGO's and donor agencies.  Effective communication among these stakeholders to allow greater political, technical and financial support for CBNRM is a critical feature to its success and future strength.  Specialized services by NGO's to help promote local employment opportunities and improve food security are another strong reason NGO collaboration with the CBNRM approach is important.  Communication is also necessary to reduce duplication of work in communities and conflicting or confusing information.

Past evidence has clearly demonstrated the difficulty of assuring local communities that the wildlife they produce will be effectively licensed to avoid any possible loss of community income.  A new licensing approach may have very significant implications for both improved revenues and for how communities perceive their wildlife as a  community-owned resource.  

Increased employment opportunities from wildlife is greatly needed in CBNRM areas to reduce poverty pressures contributing to poaching and other resource use disturbances.  It is important for policies that help create such opportunities to be explored and developed.  Providing employment opportunities to those people most likely to disturb wildlife resources in a game management area is also critical due to the fact that a small number of people are responsible for a large portion of the use and depletion of the natural resources in a GMA.

Community capacity-building and training Community Resource Boards emerging as community leaders require specific training to effectively administer the full range of responsibilities communities are expected to shoulder under the new Zambian Wildlife Act.

Previously traditional rulers served as Chairpersons for community wildlife management; under the new Zambia Wildlife Act they now serve as Patrons to the Community Resource Board, the elected legal authority for wildlife management in communities under CBNRM.  The CBNRM intention is to improve local support for wildlife management by allowing communities to elect their own representatives who can act on their behalf and be more accountable for making decisions that are in the community's overall best interest.  Traditional ruler's new role of governing and supporting communities through well regulated management of wildlife resources is a challenging and complex job which cripples CBNRM if it is not fully understood and given attention.

CBNRM provides an effective way for introducing and sustaining health services through community-based delivery approaches.  This has been illustrated by the initial efforts of community delivery agents who are currently supplying and marketing family planning drugs to local residents in a number of game management areas.  Recognizing the potential cost to food production that treatable diseases cause by reducing needed manpower during the farming season, continued community-based approaches for rural health care services is important.  There are strong arguments for linking such health care services to CBNRM.  Foremost is the fact that revenue generation is sufficient in most successful CBNRM areas to subsidize these costs as a social benefit from wildlife revenues.  Second, CBNRM has developed a community organization structure for efficiently administering community-based activities.  Third, arable soils in most game management areas are limited, often below 6%, and many families have difficulty in providing food to household members.  Overall, a healthy community means a more secure, non-resource desperate community and this is good for wildlife.