Niassa Reserve Co-Management
Geographical location:
Africa/Madagascar > Southern Africa > Mozambique
Summary
The end of the first phase evaluation concluded that the good progress made in the project since mid 2004 warrants the continuation of the project into a second phase. The second phase of WWF's support to the Niassa Reserve aims to consolidate and build on the progress made on the first phase by developing a co-management approach between the SGDRN and the communities residing in the park.
The focus will be on strengthening community-based institutions, increased income generation for local communities, further support to mitigating human-wildlife conflict and reducing uncontrolled bush fires. The second phase will also give considerable attention to building the capacity of SGDRN staff to take over and run their own community conservation programme in the reserve.
Background
Since the end of civil war in 1992 and the first multi-party elections in 1994, Mozambique has been involved in the re-formulation of legal instruments and policies concerned with use and conservation of natural resources and the decentralization process. One of the most relevant and “innovative” approaches in all of these laws and legal instruments is the openness to other stakeholders (local communities, private sector, NGOs) to manage natural resources including protected areas previously exclusive to government.
As a result of these changes in approach, several community conservation initiatives were started all over the country. With regard to protected areas (PAs), the Niassa Reserve was a pioneer in developing a private sector and government joint venture to manage the area and it is natural resources when in 1995 an agreement between Direcção Nacional de Florestas e Fauna Bravia (DNFFB) and Grupo Madal was signed. Then in 1998 the Sociedade para Gestão e Desenvolvimento da Reserva do Niassa (SGDRN) was created and formally approved by the Council of Ministers, as a partnership between the State (with a 51% share) and Investimentos Niassa Ltd with (with a 49% share) with a mandate to manage the Niassa Reserve.
As with nearly all other PAs in Mozambique, local communities reside within the Niassa reserve. As a result, management policies of the reserve need to provide for some form of community involvement and benefit in order to create incentives for residents to accept restrictions on activities that might undermine the conservation objectives of the reserve. By recognising this, the objectives of SGDRN stress both biodiversity and local development through partnership with local communities.
Although communities are considered capable to participate in managing natural resources, there is consensus that they need support in capacity building to develop the necessary skills. This includes institutional strengthening and democratization, technical and business capacity building, which require investment (funds and time) and expertise. To support these activities a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between SGDRN and WWF Southern Africa Regional Office (SARPO) was signed in 2001. Under this MoU the Niassa Reserve Community-Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development and Cooperation (NORAD) and implemented by WWF Norway and the WWF SARPO, through WWF Mozambique in conjunction with SGDRN began in late 2001.
The first phase of the project ended in December 2005. The project is being implemented in three villages namely in Mussoma, Naulala and Negomano. Despite some problems with project implementation at the beginning, positive results were achieved.
The first phase project contributed significantly to:
- Strengthening and creating community-based organizations.
- Better responses to problem animal conflict by training and testing alternative methods to reducing the conflict.
- Better knowledge about community constraints and perspectives from the reserve staff.
- Improvement on natural resource based income (through honey and fishing user groups).
- Better understanding about the reserve objectives and reserve management issues by the community.
- Maybe the most important project achievement, i.e. the improvement of trust between the community and the reserve authority opening space for dialogue.
Objectives
1) Community-based organizations strengthened, legalized and operational.
2) Alternative income generation options based on the existent natural resource potential developed.
3) Local land use and natural resource management plan developed and implemented.
4) Capacity of SGDRN to implement co-management with communities strengthened.
5) System for project management and monitoring functioning.
Solution
The foundation for the partnership is that the project activities will be in accordance with SGDRN policies and the management plan for the reserve. The project team will be under the supervision of the Reserve Director and the WWF appointed staff and SGDRN appointed staff will work jointly as one Community Development Team according to a common work plan developed in collaboration with the Reserve Director. The Community Development Team Leader will, at the request of the Reserve Authority, act as Deputy Reserve Director in the absence of the Director.
The day-to-day implementation of the project will be the responsibility of WWF SARPO through its national programme office in Maputo. The project will thus continue to receive technical support from WWF staff of WWF Mozambique in Maputo and WWF SARPO in Zimbabwe. WWF Norway will have the overall administrative, financial and technical responsibility for the project. WWF Norway will communicate with, and advise on the progress of the project on a regular basis and undertake at least one field visit a year.
In addition the project will identify suitable service providers (either local or regional organisations or individuals) that can provide specific inputs to project implementation. Ideally partnerships will be developed with Mozambican organisations that can provide services, but where appropriate activities will be sub-contracted.
Relationship with other relevant initiatives
As far as possible the community conservation team will develop partnerships with other organisations working at different level in the province such as the Cooperative League of the USA (CLUSA) experienced in community-based organizations and marketing, OPORTUN and the Agency for Cooperation and Research in Development (ACORD) working on community organisation and legalisation, the Mozambique Catholic University in Cuamba, local theatre groups, government departments and other NGOs. WWF and SGDRN will make a strong effort to access expertise available through its own networks and to arrange exposure visits for the community conservation team staff through these networks (including internationally where there are examples of co-management between conservation authorities and people resident in protected areas).
WWF will also explore the development of a closer partnership with Fauna and Flora International (FFI) with regard to fundraising and coordination of inputs regarding community conservation and technical advice provided to SGDRN. If FFI continues to provide advice and support though regular visits to the reserve, then the WWF team leader should be regarded as a more day-to-day technical advisor to SGDRN management in the reserve on community conservation issues. The current Technical Committee will also include FFI in order to ensure good coordination and avoid duplication or a misunderstanding of roles.
Added value by WWF involvement
As indicated elsewhere, WWF brings considerable regional (as well as international) experience in linking conservation and rural development. It brings experience in developing partnerships between governments, rural communities and the private sector for the promotion of the sustainable management of natural resources. WWF has access to regional and international networks of experts with experience in dealing with issues similar to those faced in the Niassa Reserve. There is the opportunity to compare, contrast and apply lessons learned from WWF’s work in Bazaruto and the Quirimbas National Park, both in Mozambique, where people are also living within protected areas.
