AFRICAN INDABA

4    CIC Welcomes the Award of the Nobel Prize in Economics to Professor Elinor Ostrom

CIC Press Release 

The International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC) welcomed the award of the Nobel Prize in Economics to Elinor Ostrom. „Her analysis of commons and common property of natural resources have shown how important the programs for community-based wildlife management are for the conservation of wildlife in Africa”, said the President of the CIC Tropical Game Commission, Dr. Rolf D. Baldus. 

 Nearly everywhere in Africa, but also in other development areas like Central Asia, game is – unless it does not live on private property – considered as common property, and no one excluded of its use. An abdication of use benefits others. The result is overexploitation and eventually a destruction of the resources. This is called the “tragedy of the commons”. Environmental economist Ostrom has shown that community assets can be used locally in self-administration if users work together. People cooperate if they realise that unity makes them strong and is for their benefit. In this way sustainability in the use of natural resources is achievable. Overexploitation is not a natural law, but can be prevented by reasonable regulations and stipulated positive as well as negative sanctions. A crucial factor is that rural communities can decide and are not dominated by elites or bureaucracy. 

 Today, the core of the efforts in the conservation of wildlife, but also of public forests, is in developing countries to hand over wildlife and natural resources management to local communities or user groups. If local small-scale farmers receive ownership and user rights on natural resources, this creates economical incentives for their conservation. The use becomes sustainable. Wild animals remain common property, but through the own interest of the users and agreements, the open access becomes restricted. Successful examples of community based natural resources management are in Namibia and Tanzania, the “Campfire Program” in Zimbabwe or the Selous-Niassa Wildlife Corridor (Tanzania/Mozambique). Latter received last year the “Markhor Award” from the CIC for its outstanding performance in biodiversity conservation.  

 The alternative privatization of game is in most African countries not possible or not reasonable, as it dispossesses concerned local people of the benefits arising from wildlife use. The state as authority, upon which the traditional nature protection is often focusing, has failed in case of wildlife conservation in almost all countries. The title of the most well-known paper of the newly awarded Nobel prize-holder is spot on “Governing the commons. The evolution of institutions for collective action.” 

 “Sustainable hunting tourism, which brings benefits to local users, has proved itself to be the economically most cost-effective form of communal wildlife use by low impact on nature at the same time” – said Baldus.