Namibia Association of Community Based Natural Resource Management

The Namibia Association of Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) Support Organisations (NACSO) "is an association comprising 15 Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) and the University of Namibia. The purpose of NACSO is to provide quality services to rural communities seeking to manage and utilise their natural resources in a sustainable manner...

"The NACSO concept was conceived in 1996 under the title of Communal Area Resource Management Support (CARMS). Development of natural products, such as oil from Kalahari Melons, can enhance the livelihoods of rural communities.

"However, it was not until August 1998, when a meeting of CBNRM support organisations was convened, that the CBNRM partners began seriously developing the NACSO concept. In September 1999 the CBNRM partners approved the constitution for the CBNRM Association of Namibia (CAN), and the CBNRM Association gained legal status. However, in February 2001 CAN was required to change its name to NACSO because the Cancer Association of Namibia, also with the acronym of CAN, justifiably complained that two organisations in Namibia should not be operating under the same name.

"The important work carried out by NACSO on rural development projects, in conjunction with NGOs such as IRDNC, Rössing Foundation and Rise Namibia, has continued. In April 2007 the European Community awarded a contract to Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) to provide four Volunteers and a Project Coordinator to NACSO for the Community Enterprise Support Project (CESP). The objective of this four year project is to improve the livelihoods of rural communities by developing sustainable enterprises based on tourism, crafts and natural products."

"The idea of a national CBNRM support structure emerged in the early 1990s, through the efforts of the Living in a Finite Environment (LIFE) programme in partnership with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and several NGOs. International support was received from WWF, USAID and the UK Government's Department for International Development. The objective was and still is "to promote activities that demonstrate that sustainably managed natural resources can result in social development and economic growth, and in suitable partnership between local communities and government.""


 * Namibia's communal conservancies: a review of progress and challenges in 2007

Related Critical Resources

 * Ute Bühler, "Participation ‘with Justice and Dignity’: Beyond ‘the New Tyranny’", Peace, Conflict and Development, Issue One, June 2002.

Contact

 * Web: http://www.nacso.org.na

Related Sourcewatch articles

 * Patricia Skyer
 * Tara Gujadhur