Beyond proprietorship. Murphree's laws on community-based natural resource management in Southern Africa
Abstract
Dr. Marshall Murphree is a prominent scholar in the elds of common property theory, rural development, and natural resource management. After graduating from the London School of Economics with a doctorate in social anthropology, he returned home to Zimbabwe to work as a missionary before joining the University of Zimbabwe, where he became director, and subsequently Professor Emeritus, of the Centre for Applied Social Sciences. Beyond Proprietorship presents a range of contributions to the May 2007 conference held to honour Murphreeís work, and it conveys his central concerns of equality and fairness. The focus is on marginalised people living in poor and remote regions of Zimbabwe, but also includes important discussions about the policy implications of regional tenure regimes, and the place of local resource management in global conservation politics. The book is essential reading for anyone interested in the recent history and experience of remote area development, semi-arid agriculture, conservation, and wildlife utilisation in southern Africa.
... It is virtually impossible to manage the environment from the centre without the active support and participation of local communities, and without assuring them of direct benefits and costs from sustainable management of environmental resources. In fact, good practices are already emerging in the local management of the environment and local resources, such as community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) initiatives throughout southern Africa (Godana & Naimhwaka 2002;Mukamuri et al. 2009). Thus, democratic decentralization is a promising means of institutionalizing and scaling up the popular participation that makes participatory management and CBNRM effective. ...
... Almost all developing countries are undertaking decentralization reforms (Ribot 2004;Hobley 2007) and a growing body of literature focuses on African experiences with CBNRM (Nelson & Agrawal 2008;German et al. 2009;Mukamuri et al. 2009). Motives for decentralization vary greatly, although most donors and governments justify decentralization as a means for increasing access, use, management and voicing of claims and concerns about natural resources among communities. ...
... The CBNRM concept popularized in the 1970s has strong connections with Zimbabwe, through the development of the Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE). The perceived success of the CAMPFIRE initiative led to the development of similar programmes in other eastern and southern African countries (Nelson & Agrawal 2008;DeGeorges & Reilly 2009;Mukamuri et al. 2009). Local resource-user committees grew in the process and the CBNRM initiative enshrined in the CAMPIRE programme for devolving the management and revenue from safari hunting and ecotourism became internationally renowned and generously funded. ...
Differences are emerging in decentralization of forest and community management in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Africa. This paper draws on case studies in each country to examine five aspects of their decentralization experience, namely forest tenure, new organizational structures, accountability and livelihood outcomes. Tenure arrangements developed as a result of decentralization are important for communities, as these determine the nature of access sanctioned by the state and security of the arrangements. The transfer of power to new organizations is proving to be a challenge. Experiences across the three case studies show that new committees were formed for these forestry initiatives by outside agencies and attempts were made to make them relevant to the way local communities managed forests. One of the main tenets of decentralization revolves around accountability of community representatives to their constituents rather than to the state. Although moves have been made to promote the accountability of community representatives, these have produced mixed results in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Africa. Only after changes in the approach taken by the state in Zimbabwe did community representatives become more accountable. In Mozambique, because of the special arrangements around the specific case, greater authority was given to community representatives, whereas, in South Africa, the state retained authority over representatives. Decentralization may bring benefits and improve communities' livelihoods from forestry activities, however much more still needs to be done by states in order for forests to take communities out of poverty.
... El fortalecimiento y el empoderamiento del actor local son considerados como fundamental en las estrategias de manejo de la vida silvestre (Murphree, 2009;Mukamuri et al., 2009). El hecho de ser dueño de la propiedad y recibir el derecho de uso del recurso que se encuentra dentro la propiedad aumenta la posibilidad que éste tenga mayor responsabilidad e interés en realizar un aprovechamiento sostenible de la especie. ...
In 1997, Bolivia initiated the National Program for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of the spectacled caiman (iCaiman yacare) (PNCASL). Bolivia has exported between 30 000 and 45 000 caiman skins annually from the Bolivian Amazon since this time. In more than 10 years of the PNCASL, the first link in the value chain of this caiman species (the hunters) remains weak. It is essential to strengthen the local stakeholders making better use of their practices and traditional ecological knowledge and integrating them with scientific inputs to guide adaptive resource management at local, regional and national levels. This paper describes participatory methods used in the context of preparing the Management Plan for the Southern part of the Departmental Park and Natural Integrated Management Area Iténez, located in the northeastern Bolivian Amazon. First, we describe the method used for zonation according to the hunting potential of each area. Second, we describe how local hunters conducted the monitoring of natural caiman populations and discuss how the monitoring results were used to suggest hunting quota. Finally, we present and discuss two methods widely used in participatory monitoring: the calculation of the catch per unit effort (CPUE) and recording the size of individuals hunted. The latter method also provides transparent data on collective and individual economic benefits from the sales of the caiman skins.
... Este actor externo, sea actor público, organización no gubernamental o empresa consultora, generalmente tiende a subestimar el rol de los mismos actores locales en los procesos de planificación y regulación. 8 El fortalecimiento y el empoderamiento del actor local son considerados como fundamental en las estrategias de manejo de la vida silvestre (Murphree, 2009;Mukamuri et al., 2009). El hecho de ser dueño de la propiedad y recibir el derecho de uso del recurso que se encuentra dentro la propiedad aumenta la posibilidad que éste tenga mayor responsabilidad e interés en realizar un aprovechamiento sostenible de la especie. ...
The legal hunting of yacaré caiman (Calman yacare) represents an economic altemative in the lowlands of the Bolivian Amazon. Caiman hunting is implemented within the framework of the National Program for Conservation and Sustainable Use of Yacare Caiman, which has been in place for more than a decade. However, evaluations of the program’s social, economic and cultural benefits are scarce. This document evaluates the economic benefits gained by hunters from the farming community of Bella Vista, situated in the province of Iténez, department of Beni (northeast of the Bolivian Amazon) during three phases: before the elaboration of the caiman management plan in the area (Departmental Park Natural Area for Integrated Management PD ANMI Iténez) (2007), during its elaboration (2008-2009) and after plan approval (2010). Between 2007 and 2010 the hunting quota for the community increased from 246 to 680. The economic benefits are determined to a large extent by fluctuations in prices offered by the industrial tanneries. These prices decreased significantly between 2008 and 2010 thus being the main factor responsible for diminished benefits for local hunters. Between 2008 and 2010, the value of one caiman measuring 1.8 m decreased from 20 US (70 Bs). The available data suggest that the management plan and the strengthening of local hunting organizations helped to buffer the negative tendency in prices. Sustainable hunting strategies for the yacare caiman in the region are presented.
... Este actor externo, sea actor público, organización no gubernamental o empresa consultora, generalmente tiende a subestimar el rol de los mismos actores locales en los procesos de planificación y regulación. 8 El fortalecimiento y el empoderamiento del actor local son considerados como fundamental en las estrategias de manejo de la vida silvestre (Murphree, 2009;Mukamuri et al., 2009). El hecho de ser dueño de la propiedad y recibir el derecho de uso del recurso que se encuentra dentro la propiedad aumenta la posibilidad que éste tenga mayor responsabilidad e interés en realizar un aprovechamiento sostenible de la especie. ...
... Este actor externo, sea actor público, organización no gubernamental o empresa consultora, generalmente tiende a subestimar el rol de los mismos actores locales en los procesos de planificación y regulación. 8 El fortalecimiento y el empoderamiento del actor local son considerados como fundamental en las estrategias de manejo de la vida silvestre (Murphree, 2009;Mukamuri et al., 2009). El hecho de ser dueño de la propiedad y recibir el derecho de uso del recurso que se encuentra dentro la propiedad aumenta la posibilidad que éste tenga mayor responsabilidad e interés en realizar un aprovechamiento sostenible de la especie. ...
The minimum allowed capture size for matrinxa (Brycon falcatus), established in law N° 9 096 of the 16th of January of 2009, is 35 cm. This length was considered inadequate by professional fisherman of Vila Bela da Santíssima Trindade, Guaporé* river - MT. In order to achieve a sustainable management of this resource, and to guarantee its exploitation viability, 279 female matrinxa were studied between March 2008 and January 2010. The analyzed variables were total length, age and stage of gonadal maturation. The population consisted of fish until 5 years old, with a fast growth (K = 0,75 year-1) and asymptotic length 38.85 cm. The L50 among the adult females was 29.50 cm and the L100 was 35.5 cm. The analyzed data emphasize that the current legislation overestimates the fish length allowed for capture of B. falcatus in the Guaporé river basin (Matto Grosso).* The Iténez river is known as Guaporé river in Brasil.
... Its rationale was to reduce human-wildlife confl ict by giving poorer rural communities a fi nancial incentive to conserve wildlife in their area. (12) The schemes primarily raised money through the development of small-scale tourism, sport hunting, and sales of wildlife products-and ivory was identifi ed as one of the most valuable commodities (13) (Hutton et al, 2005;Mukamuri et al, 2009;Stiles, 2004). For Southern African states it was clear that the decision to ban the ivory trade removed a critical source of income from the new CBNRM schemes. ...
This paper addresses a gap in our understanding of how links between states and nonstate actors intersect with North-South dynamics. It draws together the literatures on NGOs with the debates on privatised forms of global governance to provide a deeper understanding of the growing role of nonstate actors in managing transnational environmental issues. I argue that the inclusion of nonstate actors can serve to reinforce and deepen existing global inequalities. I use the example of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to shed light on the complex dynamics that surround (apparently) interstate environmental governance mechanisms. The CITES is one of the earliest examples of engagement with nonstate actors as shapers and drivers of environmental governance. As such, it provides us with important lessons about the problems associated with including a wider range of actors in global environmental governance mechanisms, especially engagement with Southern partners.
... The study area is part of the Communal Areas Management for Indigenous Resources Programme (CAMPFIRE) which is meant to benefit areas situated in wildlife management areas (Mukamuri et al., 2008). The community benefits from part of the proceeds which the local authority earns from trophy hunting. ...
... A number of initiatives aimed at reducing HWC and its related negative perceptions by humans towards wildlife have been proposed by governments and wildlife authorities and conservation groups (Katerere, 2005). The CAMPFIRE programme launched in Zimbabwe was considered as one of the key initiatives adopted to deal with HWC (Mukamuri et al., 2009). But the failure by Campfire to reduce poaching has led decision makers to suggest construction of buffer zones or erecting fences (Samu, 2010), ensuring, like the south part of the Limpopo National Park, that wildlife areas will not extend into agricultural land and vice versa (Magane et al., 2003). ...
Au Zimbabwe, les relations que les populations du district de Hwange entretiennent avec les espaces protégés ont principalement été décryptées en termes de conflits entre humains et faune sauvage à la fois par les organisations internationales, les pouvoirs publics et les universitaires. Cette lecture en occulte une autre, qui a trait à des conflits plus latents, relatifs à l’histoire du territoire et aux injustices spatiales dans un district en marge de l’État. Les habitants des zones communales, expulsés de leurs terres peu après le début de la colonisation à des fins de production agricole (fermes coloniales) et de conservation de la nature (création des espaces protégés, dont le parc national de Hwange, le plus vaste du pays), ont expérimenté des dépossessions répétées de leur territoire. Aujourd’hui, les injustices spatiales associées à la conservation de la nature demeurent prégnantes. Cette thèse interroge, à partir de matériaux ethno-géographiques, l’aconflictualité apparente des faits sociaux dans le district de Hwange en tenant compte des situations semi-autoritaires qui entourent les espaces vécus quotidiens. Elle instruit une hiérarchie du visible entre des conflits passés sous silence (occupation de terres, revendications d’accès aux espaces protégés et aux anciennes fermes coloniales) et ceux qui ne le sont pas (conflits humain-faune sauvage) ainsi qu’une réflexion sur la productivité du sentiment d’injustice à l’échelle microlocale. L’examen des formes d’agir conflictuelles mobilisant le registre du juste et de l’injuste révèle comment se formulent des négociations, des arrangements et des résistances silencieuses.
A rapid review of academic and grey literature revealed that the links between poverty, poaching and trafficking are under-researched and poorly understood. Yet, the assumption that poaching occurs because of poverty is omnipresent, with little ‘hard evidence’ to support the claim. Despite this, the authors are confident that the links are there, based on the evidence gathered. However, their understandings are hampered by a series of factors: trafficking and poaching are overwhelmingly framed as an issue of conservation/biodiversity loss rather than of poverty and development; it is difficult to collect clear and detailed data on poaching precisely because of its illicit nature; and many of the cases examined are also linked in with conflict zones, making research even more challenging.
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