The Politics and Economics of Community-Based Natural Resource Management in /Xai/Xai, Western Ngamiland, Botswana

This study examined assumptions surrounding the issue of community-basednatural resource management (CBNRM) projects in southern Africa. Data were drawn fromthe village of /Xai/Xai in Ngamiland (North West District), Botswana, a multi-ethnic communityconsisting mainly of Ju/’hoansi San and Herero located on the Botswana-Namibia borderin the northern Kalahari Desert. The /Xai /Xai people formed the /Xai/Xai (Cgae Cgae)Tlhabololo Trust in 1997, the first of its kind in Botswana. An examination of the /Xai/XaiTrust’s activities and implementation over time reveals some of the complexities of CBNRMprojects, including those relating to management, transparency, benefit distribution, equity, and the impacts of decision-making on local people. Gender, ethnicity, and class issues areexamined along with the problem of elite capture of resources, the tendency of the state to favorprivate companies, the challenges of conflicting government policies, and power relationsat the local, district, and national levels. The analysis shows that if CBNRM projects are to besuccessful, then community-based institutions and their members as well as district councilsand the central government must be able to come to agreements about benefit distribution, ways to resolve conflicts, provision of investment in livelihood-related activities, and securityof tenure over land and resources.