Midterm evaluation of the Zambia natural resources management project (project no. 690-0251.11)

The project appears to be meeting its objectives to demonstrate that wildlife can be a profitable land use and to promote institutions for natural resource management and the distribution of its benefits. The project has made some progress towards its objectives to increase local welfare, to increase the participation of women, and to return benefits from local wildlife use to communities. The project has not yet established self-sustaining wildlife management programs or influenced government to give proprietorship of wildlife to communities. The project is unlikely to demonstrate that local communities can manage wildlife by themselves but has already begun to show that communities can manage local development projects. The strongest positive effects of the project through ADMADE have probably been to increase local employment, to train and deploy wildlife management staff, to decrease illegal hunting in game management areas, and to convince local residents to support wildlife conservation. This last achievement is largely attributable to the community development projects that have been completed. The major needs that the project should address are to conduct adequate wildlife monitoring and research, increase communication within ADMADE, improve the consistency of management and recordkeeping in the areas, persuade officials and leaders at all levels to share more authority with those at lower levels, improve financial accounting, increase revenues, and improve vehicle maintenance. Zambia has retained viable populations of most of its large wildlife species and regions of attractive natural habitat. However, this wildlife heritage has been heavily depleted by hunting during the past 20 years and is now vulnerable to loss. The ADMADE program is at present the most promising attempt to conserve wildlife in Zambia for the benefit of its people. The Zambia NRM project represents the most important source of outside support for ADMADE and deserves to continue. (Author abstract, modified)