International Journal of Research in Social Sciences
Year : 2017, Volume : 7, Issue : 5
First page : ( 8) Last page : ( 16)
Online ISSN : 2249-2496.

Challenges for the sustainability of community based natural resources management programmes (CBRM) such as campfire in Zimbabwe’

Madzimur Farai

Online published on 20 June, 2019.

Abstract

This discussion is a review paper which examined the challenges which have made CBNRM programmes to be unsustainable. The major challenge that CAMPFIRE areas have faced is the problem of human wildlife conflicts which has mainly manifested themselves in the form of crop raiding by large herbivores, predation of livestock by carnivores and human deaths and injuries. The major dilemma so far is to design strategies that ensure sustainable management of wildlife while fulfilling the social needs of the local communities. This discussion suggests that the sustainability of CAMPFIRE programmes has been compromised by lack of ecological data in many CAMPFIRE areas. This is because the ecological template remains largely unexplored in wildlife studies. Previous studies focused more on the social template meaning that most social problems associated with CAMPFIRE programmes are well known. Thus there is need to establish the ecological aspects such as wildlife numbers and their distribution across the rangeland. Wildlife management programmes such as cropping or hunting, culling or demarcation of parks requires reliable information about wildlife numbers, population structure, and wildlife movement corridors. Estimating wildlife numbers in a wildlife conservation area is crucial for establishing complex predator and prey relationships as well as habitat types for different species. Assessing the distribution and seasonal movements of wildlife is critical as it establishes grazing areas, water points, migratory routes, and areas of high species diversity. Information on the distribution and movements of wildlife can also be used for demarcating park boundaries. It is also critical to establish vegetation productive of rangelands as well as determining the carrying capacity. Knowledge on the carrying capacity of rangelands is critical as this prevents unsustainable increases of wildlife populations, leading to degradation of the rangelands. This discussion also recommends that there is need to link the ecological data with human land use data such as agriculture and settlement. Such information is critical in designing wildlife management options that ensure continued existence of wildlife species in landscapes dominated by a mosaic of human land sues.

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Keywords

Sustainability, Community Based Natural Resources Management Programmes (CBRM), Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE), human wildlife conflicts.

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