NAMIBIAN PARTNERS

IRDNC (Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation)

IRDNC (www.irdnc.org.na) strives to improve the lives of rural people by diversifying the socio-economy in Namibia's communal areas to include wildlife and other valuable natural resources. The Trust aims to build up the capacity of rural Namibians, and to assist them to develop a civil society whose members can sustainably manage and benefit from their local natural resources.  The organization works to build the capacity of conservancies to sustainably manage their wildlife and other resources; to promote conservancies as effective rural institutions engaging in income generating activities; to provide and/or access training in book-keeping, financial management and accountability for conservancy staff and members; and to advocate for community-based natural resources management nationally and internationally.

World Wildlife Fund - Namibia

For 40 years, the WWF (www.wwf.org) has been a leader in conservation. WWF's focus has evolved from localized efforts in favor of single species to multifaceted projects encompassing national, regional and global scales. Today, with a network of over five million supporters, the WWF works to slow climate change, reduce toxins in the environment, protect our oceans and fresh waters, stop deforestation and save species.  In Namibia, the WWF works with conservancies to protect wildlife and promote rural economic growth.

Caprivi's Community-Based Conservancies

A conservancy consists of a bounded area of communal land, the residents of which banded together for the purpose of using wildlife sustainably and generating funds for development.  In the past, communal area residents received few benefits from wildlife, but suffered the costs caused by problem animals.  An elephant can destroy an entire crop in a few minutes and a pride of lions can quickly dispatch a herd of cattle.  In the past, poaching was the solution to these problems.  In response, the government passed legislation allowing communal area residents to directly receive revenue from trophy hunting and tourism concessions.  This provides an incentive for conservancy residents to protect wildlife as well as funding for rural development.

For the conservancy to be recognized by the Namibian government, the conservancy must have managers who represent the people living in the area.  It must also be governed by a constitution providing for the sustainable use of game, have geographic boundaries negotiated with other communities and have the capacity to manage funds and a method for equitable benefit distribution.  As of 2008, there were over 50 registered conservancies in Namibia, nine of which were in the Caprivi Region.   Since the conservancy program began, community game guards have recorded decreased incidences of poaching and increased wildlife numbers. Millions of dollars in income from trophy hunting and tourism now flow directly to rural residents, paying for necessities such as medicine, schools fees, food and water pumps.  The conservancy system has shown that wildlife and people can live and thrive together.

                                                              UNITED STATES PARTNERS

Center for Energy and Environmental Security (CEES): University of Colorado Law School

CEES is an interdisciplinary research and policy center at the University of Colorado Law School that works to develop practical strategies and solutions for moving international society toward a sustainable energy future (http://cees.colorado.edu).  CEES address issues of energy security and climate change by anticipating emerging concerns, establishing new lines of inquiry, developing and deploying strategic programs and projects and charting responses by government, business and civil society.   CEES held the first annual World Energy Justice Conference in 2009, bringing together hundreds of thought leaders to develop solutions to meet the needs of the energy poor (http://worldenergyjustice.org/).  In addition, CEES is currently working in Ayaviri, Peru to develop an action plan to meet the energy needs of this remote, mountainous community. 

Diné Care

Diné is a word by which the Navajo people refer to themselves. It means, roughly, “the people.”  Diné Care is a membership organization run by and for the Diné, the People (http://www.dinecare.org/).  Diné Care members are local Navajo people working together on issues that affect their communities.  Diné Care's members are not only leaders in their communities, but those Diné who strive to maintain a relationship with Mother Earth based on balance and harmony.  For Diné Care, membership means taking up the cause of honoring the Earth, and honoring the perspective toward Mother Earth that has been handed down to all Diné from their ancestors.
  

PowerMundo

PowerMundo is a socially-oriented business based in Denver, Colorado and Lima, Peru that builds and manages a network of customers, retailers, and suppliers to design, develop, and disseminate a suite of appropriate technology products for people in South America (www.powermundo.com).  PowerMundo's goals are to leap-frog the grid, make social business the new sustainable standard for international aid and development, spark a market revolution for sustainable products and services for the billons living at the base of the pyramid, and increase wealth generation within poor communities and create worldwide resource conservation.