Financial reporting improves in conservancies

While financial reporting by conservancies has improved, women in leadership roles has declined, according to the 2023 State of Communal Conservation Report.Women’s leadership in conservancies decreased slightly, with 12% of 83 reporting conservancies led by female chairpersons.“Just over a third of committee members and 39% of the treasurers and financial managers are women, highlighting that women are trusted with the important task of working with conservancy finances,” the report states.“Less than a quarter of conservancy staff members are female, however, which is likely due to a bias towards male game guards,” it adds. The report also highlighted that in 2023, 61% of 77 reporting conservancies covered operational costs from their own income, while 82% distributed various benefits to members, including meat from hunting. Additionally, 91% of the 86 registered conservancies generated returns in 2023.“Financial reporting improved this year with more financial reports and budgets submitted and approved,” the report notes.Conservancy goalsDelivering benefits to conservancy members and their families is central to Namibia&#039;s Community-Based Natural Resource Management Programme (CBNRM).“Whether this be employment opportunities, cash distributions, meat or community projects, these benefits are the tangible representation of conservation in action.”According to the report, rather than solely bearing the burden of wildlife coexistence, these benefits provide financial incentives and foster community pride in their environment and natural resources.The environment and tourism ministry mandates that at least 50% of conservancy income be allocated to benefit distribution, particularly for community development projects.These projects enhance the CBNRM programme’s impact by improving lives and creating opportunities for rural development.However, some conservancies struggle with insufficient income due to low wildlife numbers, a lack of joint-venture investments and other factors.“This remains an important focus for the programme, particularly as it expands its efforts to diversify income sources and livelihoods in all conservancies," the report explains. Better outcomes neededIn 2023, financial reports from 77 conservancies showed that 13 exceeded the 50% minimum benefit requirement, an improvement from the previous year.The report notes that “the discrepancy in the distribution of benefits can be attributed to factors such as a limited emphasis on benefit distribution in conservancy budgeting, a lack of member accountability in upholding approved budgets and ensuring the implementation of designated benefit-yielding activities.”Moreover, there are persistent concerns surrounding benefit distribution levels as conservancy income has increased to higher levels post-Covid-19.The prioritisation of benefit distribution is imperative for communities living with wildlife to ensure that they have a clear role and stake in management, and also have a strong incentive for conservation, the report says. “Without adjusting the present course, the CBNRM sector risks falling short of its vision to sustain communal gains from wildlife, tourism and other local resources.”

Financial reporting improves in conservancies

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Namibian Sun 2025-03-26

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Financial reporting improves in conservancies

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Namibian Sun 2025-03-26

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