esilience in the face of adversity: The case of Zimbabwe’s Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources

Abstract

Zimbabwe’s community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) programme known as the Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE), an approach to development implemented in the mid- 1980s to bestow rights over wildlife to local communities, has faced a plethora of shocks and stresses emanating from the country’s political and socio-economic problems. These shocks and stresses, which have reduced the sustainability of the programme, include, inter-alia, elite capture, poor governance, the demise of participatory processes, hyperinflation, withdrawal of donor funding, declining revenues, an international ban on trophy imports and the impact of global travel restrictions following the outbreak of COVID-19. CAMPFIRE has, however, withstood these challenges and exhibited resilience in the face of adversity. This study sought to analyse the factors contributing to the resilience of Zimbabwe’s CAMPFIRE programme in northern Zimbabwe from 1989-2021 using qualitative methods, including in- depth interviews with heads of households and key informants. These were complemented by onsite observations, secondary sources and archival records. The factors contributing to CAMPFIRE’s resilience included building institutional and technical capacity, enforcement of the CAMPFIRE guidelines, implementation of the direct payment system (DPS), development of social capital and abundance of wildlife resources. Lessons learnt from the resilience of the CAMPFIRE project can be applied to similar CBNRM projects facing such challenges as well as to proffer coping and recovery strategies for pandemics such as COVID-19.