September 2011

"This is the growth of a powerful idea: If you give people the rights to their natural resources ... both people and nature will benefit."

When you meet Chris Weaver-a charming Midwesterner with a shock of salt and pepper hair who has led WWF's program in Namibia for almost two decades-it won't be long before his passion for the country rubs off on you. This place is in his bones, and he is utterly committed to the conservation of its iconic wildlife and the enrichment of its people.

When I think of Chris, my mind travels back to a trip to Namibia we shared a few years ago. Early one morning we climbed a rocky escarpment of schist that broke off underfoot like reams of brittle paper and watched the sun light up the valley floor below through gaps in the mountains. Elephants made their way down the wash, dozens of oryx camped out in the grass and a pair of ostrich ran down the valley, their petticoats aflutter. Amidst the hush we sat and hoped for lions, since their tracks had led up through the sandy river beds the day before.

But something else was missing, too: people. "Where are they?" I asked Chris.

"They're all back in the village. But this,” he said, pointing to the wildlife, "this is their wealth."

Nowhere else on Earth does the value of nature come alive with more obvious benefits than here in Namibia-the first African country to incorporate environmental protections into its constitution- where an enabling legislative framework supports the rapidly expanding community conservancies that have placed a value on wildlife and are reaping benefits in return.

Communities in Namibia now see wildlife as a valuable asset that is essential to their livelihoods. As a result, poaching is no longer socially acceptable and restored populations of lions, cheetahs, black rhinos, zebras and other native species are thriving. Human welfare is also improving, thanks to $4.5 million in annual income the conservancies generate for the communities.

The efficacy of the conservancies is calculated by the communities through a simple system of 'event books' that compiles measures on a local level, aggregates the figures regionally and then feeds everything into a national database. The results serve as the basis for decision-making, strategy adjustments and the most impressive national reporting I've seen.

This is the growth of a powerful idea: If you give people the rights to their natural resources, and the means of capturing its value, then more often than not, particularly in the poorest and most rural areas, the people will take care of the resources and both people and nature will benefit. This is conservation-and innovation-in action.

- Carter S. Roberts