CAMBRIDGE GEOGRAPHY A2 REVISION - ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: THE MANAGEMENT OF A DEGRADED ENVIRONMENT. Presentation suitable for Cambridge A2 students. It contains: key words and definitions, topic summary, additional work and suggested websites.

1. CAMBRIDGEA2
GEOGRAPHYREVISION
ENVIRONMENTALMANAGEMENT
12.4 THEMANAGEMENTOF
ADEGRADEDENVIRONMENT

2. KEYTERMSANDDEFINITIONS
Communal conservancies are legally recognised common property resource
management organisations in Namibia’s communal lands.
Community forests are forest areas where local communities can manage
and utilise forest resources in a sustainable manner.
Scaling-up process is the expanding of effective programmes to reach larger
numbers of people in a broader geographic area.

5. TOPICSUMMARY
Namibia, in south-western Africa, is a very sparsely populated country
with a generally dry climate.
Namibia’s Communal Conservancy Program is regarded as a successful
model of community-based natural resource management with an
improving record for wildlife numbers and poverty reduction.
The conservancy program began in 1996. By 2007 it had expanded to 50
registered conservancies, which now cover nearly 11.9 million hectares.
An obvious sign of success is the significant increase in the numbers of
wildlife in the conservancies after decades of decline.

8. TOPICSUMMARY
The significant participation of conservancy populations has been central to
the design of the program. Conservancies are built around communities’
willingness to work collectively.
The diversification of economic activity made possible by the conservancy
program has increased employment opportunities where few existed
beforehand and also raised incomes.
Support from, and cooperation between, a number of different institutions
has been important to the development of the program.
Although rural poverty remains significant in Namibia, the conservancy
program has resulted in substantial progress, with income rising year on
year.
An important aspect of development has been the involvement of
women in the employment benefits.

10. Involvement of the community in the project

11. TOPICSUMMARY
Rising income from conservancies has made possible increasing investment
in social development projects.
Following the perceived success of community conservancies, the Namibian
government has extended the concept to community forests.
The advent of community forests has led to improved forest resource
management. It has also improved the livelihoods of local people based on
the empowerment of local communities with forest use rights.
The Government of Namibia has identified land degradation as a serious
problem that demands remedial intervention.
Five government departments together with international agencies have
established a Country Pilot Partnership for Integrated Sustainable Land
Management.

14. ADDITIONALWORK
1. If you lived in Namibia, why do you think it would be advantageous to
live in a community conservancy as opposed to living outside one?
2. Conduct research to find the locations of Namibia’s community forests.
3. Search the internet to find out how the Country Pilot Partnership for
Integrated Sustainable Land Management has progressed.
4. a. Describe the issues faced in the management of degraded
environments in Namibia.
b. Evaluate the attempts to overcome the issues you have identified in a.

15. The Ovitoto
communal area,
predominantly a
semi-arid cattle
farming outpost
is a microcosm
of the challenges
facing the rest of
Namibia on
issues of
desertification,
land degradation
and drought.

16. SUGGESTEDWEBSITES
www.undp.org
www.tourismfortomorrow.com
www.fao.com
www.adaptationlearning.net