What we do

• Stakeholders of six game management areas (GMAs) in Zambia will plan and effectively implement priority actions to strengthen governance. This will include activities such as stakeholder action planning workshops, communication of assessment results and action plans, implementation of specific priority actions, peer-to-peer exchanges with other GMAs, regular monitoring of progress, and governance capacity building for community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) based on needs assessments.
• Stakeholders of four game management areas (GMAs) in Zambia will complete governance assessments for deeper analysis of governance challenges and identifying site-specific actions.
• Learning on strengthening community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) governance will be shared within Zambia and more widely across Africa, with substantial capacity building in governance assessment. Activities towards this will include establishing and facilitating a CBNRM governance strengthening learning group, the publication of a report on governance assessment for CBNRM, a policy briefing on why governance should be at the heart of conservation, a guidebook for strengthening CBNRM governance, and presentations of project learnings on improving governance in CBNRM at relevant national, regional and global events.

The change the project implementation will bring for the protected area(s)

The project will improve governance of the six target protected areas and is designed to have a wider impact on governance of protected areas within Zambia as well as across the eastern and southern Africa region that are using a CBNRM approach. Improved governance will lead to more effective and equitable management of the protected area and associated benefit flows to local communities which in turn will enhance local livelihoods and well-being and improve the health of the ecosystem and its wildlife populations. In some respects, the project may deliver more for well-being than typical alternative livelihood interventions since governance interventions contribute to non-material aspects of human well-being, e.g., dignity, voice, security, social capital, and generally cost less than alternative livelihood interventions.