The recently concluded Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) conference has agreed to roll out focused regional meetings to address specific issues affecting conservancies, community forests, and community associations.

The conference covered critical areas, such as wildfire management, tourism development, and the establishment of internship programmes in the hunting sector to build local capacity.

Participants decided to look into creating a citizen hunting category in conservancies and stressed the importance of following good governance and financial management practices to keep the community's trust and accountability.

Environment, Forestry and Tourism Minister Indieni Daniel explained, "If we also consider requesting an exception on the minimum wage requirement for conservancies, community forests, and community associations for some conservancies, I believe that was also mentioned. The gathering acknowledged and discussed the necessity of strengthening a rights-based approach to promote inclusive governance, as a few individuals are benefiting at the expense of the most vulnerable, and it emphasised that the current situation must change. We agreed to strengthen coordination and monitoring to be accountable to the people on the ground."

The conference further highlighted the need to strengthen a rights-based approach to ensure inclusive governance, as concerns were raised that benefits are not equitably reaching vulnerable community members.

Improved coordination, monitoring, and collaboration across institutions were identified as essential to addressing these gaps.

"The need to have guidelines on the implementation benefits thereof from carbon trading in conservancies and community forests. We agreed that communities should have a voice in the CBNRM programmes; they should own the programmes and do responsible things to ensure that benefits from conservancies, community forests, and community associations reach the intended beneficiaries."

A detailed report capturing all resolutions will be finalised within two weeks and shared with stakeholders after a presentation to the Cabinet.