Dr Rodgers Lubilo and Malidadi Langa discuss the main issues that were addressed during the first-ever African Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Conservation Congress. Land rights, resource use rights, human wildlife conflict and building an African Alliance to amplify African voices are among the highlights. We will continue to work together with our partners across Africa to create a movement for conservation that truly benefits African people.
Zimbabwe’s Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE) was created in the 1980’s as an important conservation and rural development tool, particularly for the country’s wildlife-rich areas and semi-arid regions, which have very low agricultural potential.
Luengue-Luiana National Park in Angola is part of the Kavango-Zambezi Trans-frontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA) that covers parts of five African countries (Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe). This Park covers 22,610 km², and is patrolled by government rangers and 27 community game guards trained by ACADIR-Angola. This national park is not exclusively for animals, however, as 49,300 people currently live within its boundaries. In line with the other KAZA TFCA countries, Angola wants to develop a wildlife economy that will support people and wildlife living in this landscape.
Community conservation efforts in Southern Africa started in the 1980s and have since taken slightly different paths towards including rural communities in the wildlife economy and nature conservation. Over the years there have been some exchange visits and other events to increase communication among the community conservation stakeholders in these countries, but such opportunities remain rare.
In May 2023 the Community Leaders Network of Southern Africa (CLN) convened in Johannesburg, South Africa, to formulate their development strategy for the next six years. The workshop served as a platform for the CLN Board and key decision makers to collaboratively develop the framework of the strategy and a Theory of Change. Download the report here: (Africa Strategy Workshop Report.pdf)
It is with heavy hearts and deep sorrow that we note the passing of CLN Vice Chairperson Comrade Charles Jonga.
Charles was an icon, a legend and exemplary leader for community conservation. Comrade Jonga was not just a pillar for CAMPFIRE in Zimbabwe but an inspiration to young conservation leaders across Southern Africa.
As the Chairperson of Community Leaders Network of Southern Africa, I participated in the recent 22nd Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) held in New York, USA. It was a real eye opener for me, as I started to appreciate the challenges, abuse and human rights infringements that over 6.7 million indigenous peoples around the world have had to endure.