ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the evolution of Zimbabwe’s pioneering CAMPFIRE programme, showing that progress only began when partial attempts at devolution were replaced by bold policies that devolved to communities the rights to sell, benefit, and manage wildlife. These rights were encapsulated in three processes: (1) open, competitive marketing; (2) participatory revenue distribution; and (3) the management of wildlife, quotas, and hunting. The co-development of these processes led to rapid gains in community conservation, social and organisational capital, and management systems. However, CAMPFIRE was a pragmatic compromise between the wildlife agency’s vision of entitling communities and what was politically possible. It worked rapidly when the intended conditions prevailed, but without legal rights communities were ultimately vulnerable to elite capture, including at community level, providing critical lessons for the design of CBNRM institutions.
