ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that the local management of wildlife on common resources can provide a sustainable income for local people. Most of Zimbabwe’s small-scale farming population lives in the dry, marginal communal lands of the country. Many of these are far from urban centres, transport routes and marketing facilities. In marginal areas, with a high population of existing wildlife resources, the returns from wildlife use can potentially be higher than alternative options of dryland agriculture and extensive cattle rearing. The CAMPFIRE (Communal Area Management Programme for Indigenous Resource Exploitation) project was launched in 1986, but had various antecedents dating back over the previous decade. Its aims, as outlined in the original project document include: the introduction of group ownership with defined rights of access to natural resources for the local communities; the provision of appropriate institutions under which resources can be managed and exploited for local benefit; and the provision of technical and financial assistance to communities.
