The Community Leaders Network of Southern Africa and Resource Africa South Africa sign an MOU
The Community Leaders Network of Southern Africa (CLN) and Resource Africa South Africa (RASA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support the voices of southern African communities that rely on the sustainable use of natural resources for their livelihoods.
The Community Leaders Network and Resource Africa South Africa signed an MOU in January. The objective of this MOU is to strengthen the work of the CLN in various areas.
Given southern Africa’s diverse flora and fauna, as well as the region’s long history of wildlife, fish, and habitat conservation, the partnership between CLN and RASA has several goals, all of which aim to improve how communities interact with and benefit from their natural resources.
A rights-based approach to improving rural livelihoods
CLN is a formally registered Association of community leaders from Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. This group of leaders have a vast combined experience with community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) in their countries, and have come together to share lessons, collaborate on regional projects, and collectively strengthen the voices of millions of rural African people. Their objectives are closely aligned with Resource Africa, which is committed to working with local communities to advocate for their rights at local, national, regional and international levels.
The MoU’s goal is to strengthen CLN’s work in a variety of areas. CLN brings together national and local community-based organisations based in nine southern African countries to provide a coordinating and supportive role. RASA will therefore support the establishment of a CLN secretariat and an office from which to base their operations. RASA will also assist these associations in recruiting full-time staff to coordinate the national associations’ data collection, reporting, and knowledge management functions. This will fill a critical gap in our current understanding of how CBNRM is working in these countries and where there is room for improvement or cross-pollination of ideas.
CLN and RASA will implement a much-needed Monitoring and Information system
The implementation of a Monitoring and Information System for Adaptive Management is a key programme under the CLN-RASA partnership. The monitoring and information system was prompted by a lack of evidence to support local, national, and international decisions regarding sustainable resource use in southern Africa.
CLN and RASA will fill this data gap. In the first year, the project will support 50 community-based organisations across five countries to collect data on species, income, and governance using the Event Book System developed and tested in Namibia. The data will primarily be used to improve the efficiency of these community institutions and will be aggregated at the national and regional levels to obtain a more accurate picture of CBNRM at these scales. This solid evidence gathered for and by local communities will serve as the foundation for CLN advocacy efforts at the national, regional, and international levels.
Feature Photo:
Back row r-l: Craig Bruce (JAMMA International), Tafadzwa Magaracha (Finance Officer RA), Shylock Muyengwa (CBNRM Consultant RA), Emmanuel Siakilo (Senior Monitoring & Evaluation Manager RA), Keith Madders (Chairman RAUK RASA), Malan Lindeque (CEO RAUK)
Front row r-l: Siyoka Simasiku (Executive Member, CLN), Mohamed Kamuna (Executive Member CLN) , Rogers Lubilo (Chairman CLN) Lesle Jansen (CEO RASA) Vilio Muunda (Co-ordinator CLN)
