Is CAMPFIRE replacing National Parks?
Zimbabwe has set aside, in perpetuity, more than 12% of its land as protected wildlife areas. Most of these are surrounded by communal lands. CAMPFIRE will help prevent the protected areas from becoming islands in a sea of development by making wildlife valuable for nearby communities. CAMPFIRE, however, was never intended as a way to create buffer zones around national parks, but as a rural development program with a strong element of community empowerment. One spin-off is that CAMPFIRE has enabled communities to enter into a debate on the management of protected areas, enhancing the likelihood of joint planning between these communities and national parks. Such ‘co-management’ may indeed hold the best hope for the future of national parks across Africa.
