National Policy on Community Based Natural Resource Management.

The National Policy on Community Based Natural Resource Management (2013) (CBNRM) 's main aim of the policy is to provide a framework that promotes the wise and sustainable use of natural resources on State land outside Protected Areas as well as the promotion of integrated land and natural resource planning and decision making that considers the most appropriate land uses based on land capability, optimum economic return, environmental and human needs. The Policy also identifies specific aims: To synergize rural development with biodiversity conservation efforts; To empower rural populations to be actively engaged in and benefit from the management of natural resources without compromising on biodiversity conservation; To increase the yields of benefits derived from natural resources on communal land through research, adaptive management and application of sound technology; To create conditions for the investment in conservation related businesses as an incentive to protect the environment and manage its biodiversity; To integrate and strengthen community institutions and structures; To enable communities to collectively engage in environmental and natural resource monitoring, and in mitigation and adaptation to climate change.
The Strategies identified by the CBNRM are: Land tenure and rights to use, access, control, and benefit from natural resources (To extend and specify land tenure and natural resources user rights, which may be devolved to communities; To ensure that CBNRM's devolved user rights are registered in the names of the beneficiaries; To ensure that CBNRM is built into integrated land use planning and the planning and implementation of other regional and national development agendas); Community management of natural resources (To establish a framework that provides incentives for communities to manage natural resources in a sustainable manner; To create opportunities and skills for community participation in natural resources management; To promote integrated conservation and CBNRM strategies based on sound scientific principles and practices); Compliance monitoring, accountability and good governance; (To enable communities through their legal bodies to comply with the applicable requirements for CBNRM; To encourage communities to participate meaningfully in the monitoring and implementation of CBNRM activities; To ensure that community legal bodies are operated and managed in a transparent, accountable, democratic, participatory and non discriminatory manner); Benefits, community partnerships and joint ventures (To protect the intellectual property rights of communities with regard to natural resources and the management of such natural resources; To create sufficient economic and other benefits from the use of natural resources so that rural communities will view natural resources as an asset rather than a liability; To have a fair and equitable distribution of benefits derived from the use of natural resources); Research, education and knowledge management (To foster a spirit of active learning and adaptations to changing situations and circumstances within communities; To promote environmental education for sustainable development and ensure that sustainable resource utilisation and environmental management enhances peoples’ livelihoods; To ensure that benefits received from sustainable use of natural resources and sound conservation practices are acknowledged and understood by communities; To promote climate change adaptation knowledge and formidable skills); Sustainability of CBNRM (To establish an institutional support framework for the implementation of CBNRM; To create long term sustainability strategies for CBNRM in Namibia; To ensure the long term political willingness for CBNRM within all sectors; To ensure that Community Based Organizations balance operating costs with the development needs and return of benefits to members); Capacity building and skills development; Support structures for community management of Natural resources.