Supporting Communal Conservancies in Namibia: The Present and Future

The presentation covers: The legal requirements and experiences in implementing communal area conservancies; Conservancy support activities & Programmatic Impacts, including activities relating to Natural Resource Management, Institutional Development and Capacity Development, Business and Enterprise Development; Opportunities for programme expansion beyond wildlife; Lessons learned and Recommendations for the future; Challenges & Conclusions. 

Patricia Skyer is the new Team Leader for Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM). Patricia, a Namibian citizen, comes to USAID from the Namibian Association of CBNRM Support organizations, where she served as Secretariat Coordinator for the past four years. Patricia has extensive experience in the CBNRM field, serving as Community Liaison for the Desert Research Foundation of Namibia (1993); Community Development Officer for the Living in a Finite Environment Project (1996-1998); and CBNRM Trainer at the Rössing Foundation (2001).  In 2002, she received two prestigious international awards: the Conde Nast Traveler Magazine Environmental Award, and the World Wildlife Fund Women and Conservation Award.