52 



Muninereial fkrniflrs bava reccmly pooled their Und to foirn a wikUiCi cooiervanay of 

 kppmxiinfttely 1 ffiiUion acre*, which Zifflbtbwenni doiin win be the laifvM priv»t«ly owaad 

 wildJife u*» in the world Todav in Zimbabwe iWi of (be land dedicated to wildlife nuaagcmcitt 

 u found in ooramcTcial and communal areai wUlit Natloaal Paiiu accoimt fbr ieii than 30V«. 

 This tmaiiitt* lu more than on* third of the arex nf Zimbabwe, a rwl contrftution to biodivaraty 

 conservatjoo Key speciea liave also benefirtad con»»dertbly u a reauh. with leveral Ipecies 

 prrvaoutly claiiified ts endangered, such tu the cheetah, 'MUt orooodlla asd alaphant, leetng 

 significant inc-.reases in their populations. Habitat loss hu been the siiigle biggeat threat to wildliA 

 conservation in Africa, by r(>v8rBiiig this, many species btve leaa bicre«N* in tbn pupulatioDs. 



Under CAMPFIRE more lUau 250.000 people an now engage in the practice ofmanaBinjt 

 wildlife and reaping the benefits of using wild lands These paopla live in remote sreas thit have 

 historically been by passed by doveloptneot inhUntwa and it li no cxaggerntioB to tay that they are 

 lomc of the poorest people in the world. CAMPFIRfi reveouM anauat to approxixnately USS 

 Z,000,000 per year, an enomoous figure when one cofliidera thit the avtrage annual inoome per 

 boucehold in thcK uees is approximatety US$1 SO CommunitiM have devised a number of wayt 

 to improve their livelihoods by taking advantage of the new found vahie of wildlife. The sngle 

 biggest revenue generatiog activity Is imcniatioaally marketed sofiiri hunting, which generates 

 over 90% of all ca.sh income But a variety of other usas exist, fuch as photogn^c safaris, live 

 <>dlea of wildlife, cropping to pmvide nutrition loeaDy and sale of sidns The revaoum from these 

 effons generally go dirc«tly to households, which decide how to UM the proceeds. In the recent 

 drought years this cash bu^i ufVcn suvcd off soma of the worst efhets of crop ftilure. starvatioo; 

 or communities may pool their resourwra to build a cJiato or school; often the money win be 

 conununslly invested in an income generatiag project. Huch aa a grtadiog miU or shop. 



Bi' CAMPFIRE is (ti more than simply a wildlife minageffleot and Income genertdng 

 programme. It Is a means by which communities can take back control over their own flttures and 

 reassert thel*^ aelt-rebance. Q has retuiued to rural communittas the right to make dedsioos 

 conewning how they will use theu- natural resources. CAMPFIRE has beowne a fistum tot a wide 

 range of issuas, inclurfing representation, econoiroc participation and the local govereasoe of 

 communal areas. In many wayt It is an exercise in democracy, It wQ! be tragic and ironic if these 

 rights are undermined yet again by in^periaUam fh>m the Waft, this time in the guise of 

 envirootnental concerns, 'eco-impejialism'. 



CAMPFIRE is by no means the only initiative of this type. Stanilir progiouunes are in operation in 

 Buiswana, Namibia, Malawi and Zan^ia TanTifliB. South Afiica Ud Moambique| are exploiing 

 options for devdopiug progranunes, whilst several countries outdde Southarn Afiica, such u 

 Uganda, Cameroon and Kenya are implementiRg pilot prageets. 



IlflHUsATIOMAL TRADE AND NATURAL RESOURCES 



It nay be interesting to note that the impact of the US has played a significaflt role fai the history 

 of CAMPFIRE. buih through positiva support at wril u potential throats to its economic 

 viability. This paper will conclude by Uhistrating tfaMe impact* snd tha imi^Getions this may have 

 for future US policy towards Africa. 



