Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 16:49, 9 November 2021

Revision as of 12:19, 11 February 2022

Line 1:

The '''Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources''' ('''CAMPFIRE''') is a [[Zimbabwe]]an [[Natural resource management#Regional or Community Based NRM|community-based natural resource management]] program. It is one of the first programs to consider wildlife as [[Renewable resource|renewable natural resources]], while addressing the allocation of its ownership to indigenous peoples in and around conservation protected areas.{{sfn|Satchel|1996}}

== Background ==

Line 6:

Population pressures in Zimbabwe have led to people living in communal lands, much of which is arid and unsuitable for agricultural farming.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last=Murindagomo|first=Felix|date=1990|title=Zimbabwe: WINDFALL and CAMPFIRE|journal=Living with Wildlife: Resource Management with Local Participation in Africa|pages=123–140}}</ref> CAMPFIRE would allow individuals to earn income on these communal lands through sustainable use of the environment and wildlife.<ref name=":3" /> CAMPFIRE is managed through Rural District Councils (RDCs) who distribute contracts for safari hunting and tourism and allocate revenue to local wards.<ref name=":0" /> Poaching was to be suppressed by the people in these hunting areas.<ref>Ceballos, G.; Ehrlich, A. H.; Ehrlich, P. R. (2015). ''The Annihilation of Nature: Human Extinction of Birds and Mammals''. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 170 - 172. {{ISBN|1421417189}} - via open edition.</ref> While some endangered animals were killed, the program aimed at supporting these populations in the long run by managing hunting, decreasing illegal poaching, and strengthening the economic prospects of the community through environmental protection and revenue generation.

The US federal government has supported CAMPFIRE, principally through the [[United States Agency for International Development]], or [[USAID]]. CAMPFIRE received $7.6 million initially and $20.5 million in 1994 from USAID.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Hasler|first=Richard|title=An Overview of the Social, Ecological and Economic Achievements and Challenges of Zimbabwe's CAMPFIRE programme|url=http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/7796IIED.pdf|journal=Evaluating Eden Series Discussion Paper No 3|pages=1–22}}</ref> USAID did not renew its funding once their commitment ended in 2000.<ref name=":1" />

== Results ==

Line 24:

== Criticisms ==

The sustainability of protecting wildlife is contingent upon market demand for safaris, hunting, and other wildlife commodities.<ref name="The CAMPFIRE Program in Zimbabwe">{{Cite web | url=https://firstforwildlife.wordpress.com/2015/08/18/the-campfire-program-in-zimbabwe/ |title = The CAMPFIRE Program in Zimbabwe|date = 2015-08-18}}</ref> After increased violence around land ownership, investment and tourism decreased, resulting in a decline of revenue generation across wards.<ref name=":5" /> Furthermore, CAMPFIRE's model is based on the sustainable consumptive use of [[endangered species]] as a strategy to increase the value of their remaining populations. This position clashed with the majority [[Wilderness#Conservation vs. preservation|preservationist]], anti-hunting public sentiment in the US as well as national and international law, in particular [[CITES]].{{sfn|Rowe|1997}} In 2014 the US stopped the importation of elephants and ivory into the US, halting much of the hunting and revenue carried out in CAMPFIRE communities.<ref name="The CAMPFIRE Program in Zimbabwe"/> More recently, the Trump administration has lifted the US' ban on [[Trophy hunting|trophy imports]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/07/science/trump-elephant-trophy-hunting.html|title=U.S. Lifts Ban on Some Elephant and Lion Trophies|last=Nuwer|first=Rachel|date=2018-03-07|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-05-10|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Following Zimbabwe's economic downturn in the 2000s, CAMPFIRE experienced a greater degree of elite capture, with villagers reporting that council positions and CAMPFIRE-related employment opportunities being held by friends and family members of sitting councillors.<ref name=":5" /> RDCs have retained an increasing percentage of CAMPFIRE revenues and are criticized for being unresponsive to local concerns.<ref name=":3" /> In some areas, the communal projects are initiated but are not sustained, while the income from CAMPFIRE revenues is insufficient to substitute agricultural income.<ref name=":2" />