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land degradation which leaves people and the environment impoverished. Africa is unlikely 

 to produce its own 'green revolution' in the near future and may instead need to pursue a 

 more diversified path of natural resource management and agricultural production based upon 

 the prevalent natural conditions and available resources. 



Africa's current development paths have focused on intensifying the productivity of arable 

 agriculture and livestock at the exjjense of exploring the productive potential of other existing 

 resources. This has produced competition for land in which the potential benefits of much of 

 the indigenous fauna and flora, particularly wildlife, are largely neglected. At the same time 

 conservation efforts have sought to protect these resources against development, creating a 

 seemingly insurmountable conflict between the goals of conservation and development. 

 Many African countries are currently rediscovering the productive and economic potential of 

 their indigenous resources in their national development programs. It is in this context that 

 the CAMPFIRE program provides possible options for reconciling conservation and 

 development objectives, whilst addressing the challenges described above. 



HISTORICAL APPROACHES TO CONSERVATION IN AFRICA AND 

 ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES 



Traditional approaches to conservation in Africa have been based upon the Western 

 conservation paradigm of protectionism. This essentially assumes that any interaction, 

 particularly use, between humans and wildlife will have a negative conservation impact. It 

 has sought to place wildlife within a vacuum, creating protected areas in which humans give 

 way entirely to animals. These protected areas are often viewed with resentment as they are 

 seen by rural [jeople as under used and elitist. Outside the protected areas we see an 

 increasing trend in which the converse situation occurs, with the wildlife and its habitat 

 giving way entirely to people, often resulting in a loss of biodiversity and environmental 

 degradation. 



In the last ten years there has been a growing recognition throughout Africa that this 

 protectionist approach to wildlife conservation has been failing to address either the 

 environmental or developmental needs of African nations. An alternative approach to 

 conservation was required, which would address the realities of conservation and 

 development in the African context. This approach, commonly known as community based 

 natural resource management (CBNRM), is one in which responsibility for the management, 

 use and benefit of natural resources, including wildlife, is returned to the local communities 

 who live with it. This pragmatically acknowledges that benefits must accrue to the people 

 who coexist with wildlife otherwise more economically viable, but often environmentally 

 degrading, land uses will be preferred. 



Zimbabwe was one of the first countries to pioneer this approach through the introduction of 

 the Communal Areas Management Program For Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE) 

 Program. The program is closely linked to the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) articles 

 and emphasizes the use of natural resources for sustainable development. Its principles are 

 also closely linked to Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration, which states that environment 



