Campfire: An unsung hero in the conservation function in Zimbabwe

Harare (New Ziana) –The Community (formally Communal) Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE) is an unsung hero in the conservation and preservation of natural resources in Zimbabwe without which many species of flora and fauna would have become extinct.

CAMPFIRE is a community based natural resources management (CBNRM) programme that the Zimbabwe government introduced in the late 1980s to promote the sustainable utilisation of natural resources and preservation of the rich natural heritage of the country, through the generation of income for rural communities.

At its inception, CAMPFIRE focused mostly on communities living adjacent to national parks whose livelihoods were affected by stray and marauding animals which destroyed crops, injured and killed people.

The objective was to ensure communities found value in living harmoniously with the wild animals that otherwise wreaked havoc with their lives through utilising them to earn revenue from safari businesses and trophy hunting.

Previously, communities viewed wildlife as a liability and nuisance and only useful for meat, threatening the existence of many species, particularly the small ones which were easy to hunt.

Over the years, the concept has been broadened to include other natural resources including plants, water, land and minerals.

A number of countries in the region and beyond have since visited Zimbabwe to study the concept with the view to copy it.

Besides tourism and trophy hunting, communities now earn revenue from selling thatching grass, Mopani worms, fish, granite, teak wood and other forestry products.

CAMPFIRE operates with the support of the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, which gratuitously gets all the plaudits and credits for the conservation of wildlife in the country.

At least 59 out of the 60 Rural District Councils (RDCs) in the country participate in CAMPFIRE activities, through which they generate revenue which they use to build infrastructure such as roads, bridges, schools, clinics, erecting fences to keep away wild animals as well as purchasing food relief.

Communities also benefit from meat in excess of the quotas for safari hunting operations, as well as from problem animals that are killed.

It is important to note that a district or RDC may be part of CAMPFIRE, but this does not mean that every village or ward in that district will be directly engaged in CAMPFIRE activities.

The performance of CAMPFIRE across districts therefore varies, as benefits, especially from wildlife, are determined by the size of land that is free from human settlement for agriculture and livestock rearing, or other economic activities such as gold panning and mining, that do not negatively impact on wildlife management, and on which CAMPFIRE related income generating activities such as safari hunting can be administered.

The human population density in most districts today is more than 20 people per square kilometre, compared to 10 people per square kilometre when CAMPFIRE was started.

Wildlife management under CAMPFIRE is most successful in buffer areas between national parks and those areas in which people live and conduct their other livelihood activities.

Buffer areas serve as communal wildlife dispersal areas which are not gazetted at law, but are maintained at the pleasure of rural communities.

Illegal killing of elephant in typical CAMPFIRE areas is relatively low and averages only 25 percent of annual national statistics.

In some CAMPFIRE areas, safari operators have developed partnerships for anti-poaching and problem animal control with great success, for example Mbire district in Mashonaland Central province.

On average CAMPFIRE generates about US$2 million per year, meaning that communities in major CAMPFIRE areas receive about US$1 million every year in total and since 2007, these communities have been opening their own bank accounts to receive cash from safari operators under a Direct Payment System which eliminated previous delays in money reaching the communities and ensures communities see the value of wildlife.

New Ziana