ESRI Conservation Program: GIS Stories from the field

ADMADE is an integrated wildlife conservation and community development program operating in 24 of the 34 Game Management Areas (GMAs) of Zambia. ADMADE tests two main hypotheses: that community participation in, and their derivation of tangible benefits from, wildlife management is a more effective way of conserving the wildlife and ecological estate of Zambia; and that sustainable wildlife utilization is a viable and profitable land-use option for local communities to pursue. The program is being implemented by the National Parks and Wildlife Service of Zambia. Through this project, WWF provides technical and administrative assistance to ADMADE.

Throughout the 1970s and most of the 1980s, illegal off­take of wildlife had a dramatic and detrimental effect on wildlife numbers in Zambia. It was clear that the policy of wildlife preservation through enforced protection measures was failing. Research showed that one major factor causing increased poaching related to the transfer of ownership, during colonial rule, away from local communities to the state. It was argued that because communities no longer had control over wildlife, they had lost the incentive to conserve the resource. The result was increasing unsustainable resource utilization, including the willing collaboration in commercial poaching activities. In order to address the deteriorating situation, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) implemented a new policy for wildlife management that became the ADMADE program. The main objective of the policy was that, over time, the community would regain the custodianship and management of wildlife.

To achieve this objective, the initial strategy had two components. First, local committees were created to increase participation by communities in wildlife management. In addition, employment opportunities were created throughout the village scout program. And second, a share of hunting revenues was passed through the committees to communities, in order to establish a direct benefit from wildlife. Previously, these revenues had been completely retained by government. Complementing these strategies, the program has also attempted to build local capacity to implement development projects in order to improve local services and generate alternative sources of income and livelihoods.

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Achievements during the last three years of the project have included: (a) establishment of the principle that communities have a right to participate in wildlife management and that it is a more effective way to achieve conservation. The process of legalizing community ownership has been started; (b) demonstration of the fact that, at least for the first two years of the project, significant revenues could be generated and shared by communities from hunting safaris; (c) training and employment of over 450 village scouts, 50 unit leaders, and 15 community development assistants. Five unit leaders have undergone diploma training courses at Mweka college in Tanzania, and two biologists have completed MSc degrees at the University of Zimbabwe; (e) infrastructure improvements, under the supervision of a specially recruited community development officer, including schools, clinics, and housing in all of the targeted GMAs. Women's training courses have also been completed; (e) recruitment of a land-use planning officer who has assisted in the development of GIS databases for most GMAs in the ADMADE program; and (f) training workshops for traditional leaders.

Text and graphics: World Wide Fund for Nature, ADMADE.
January 2, 1997

Web layout & design: ESRI Conservation Program, January 2, 1996

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