An Assessment of the Impact on Devolved Governance in Natural Resource

Community based natural resource management is a process of empowering rural communities residing adjacent to national parks and other protected areas to have access rights and derive benefits from sustainable use of natural resources. Wuparo conservancy is found within the Caprivi region of Namibia and was among the first conservancies to be gazzetted in the country. Wuparo followed a more generic top-bottom approach (1998-2008) to management and organisation of the conservancy just as many do. However, drastic changes took place been 2009 onwards when the conservancy embarked on a further devolution of the management process to sub-conservancy structures to be centers of power and decision making on use of resources and sharing benefits. The study provides lessons for emerging debates on the governance and beneficiation of the communal conservancies.