Paper short abstract:

The Communal Conservancies program has been around for over 26 years in Namibia. However, when the country went into the first national lockdown there was already mounting fear that the program will be severally impacted, because of their heavy reliance on hunting and tourism.

Paper long abstract:

COVID-19 has devastated the global economy in all sectors that contribute to the gross domestic product (GDP) of many countries and tourism is the third largest economic sector in Namibia on which the communal conservancies’ areas depend. The recorded impacts of COVID-19 on communal conservancies demand a need for serious reflections on the community conservation programme in Namibia. The community conservation programme has been, for the first time, exposed to a major shock in the form of COVID-19, its stability has been shaken. and threatened. Over the years, conservancies and community forests have registered progress on many fronts, ranging from positive contributions toward natural resources conservation, income generation, enterprise development, improvement in livelihoods for communities, and stability in key governance structures. COVID-19 has had its own ripple effects, reinventing itself through the different variants resulting in further uncertainties and unpreparedness among CBNRM actors. The need to diversify revenue and livelihood sources to prevent exposure to shocks and crises was also identified. If the community conservation initiatives are to become resilient communities, a new culture should be inculcated that of an investment base, and long-term financial planning in order for the community-based institutions to withstand shocks at least in a short to medium-term span. This, along with all other external shocks of different manifestation, require serious reflections and preparedness from all stakeholders involved to assist in building resilient communities and community-based management and governance processes.