The World Bank/WBI’s CBNRM Initiative

Case Received: February 06, 1998

Authors: B. M. Campbell B.B. Mukamuri and B. Sithole

E-mail: bcampbell@coldfire.dnet.co.zw

Throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, pockets of the landscape, varying in size from a few hectares to hundreds of hectares, are earmarked by local communities as sites in which limited or no utilisation of natural resources is permitted on the grounds that the sites are of ritual significance (Shepherd, 1992). This case study focuses on Zimbabwe, where the sacred woodlands contain a variety of resources of value to the local community, including thatching grass, wood for a variety of purposes, wild foods, grazing and medicinal plants. In addition, the land on which the woodland occurs is often of high agricultural potential. Access to the resources in sacred woodlands is limited to certain sectors of the society or access requires that a set of rules be followed. Resources from sacred woodlands are also of key value in times of hardship (such as drought), and thus sacred woodlands also act as social security nets.

The communal lands in Zimbabwe are marked by high population densities and considerable deforestation. There are a wide variety of "traditional" rules governing the use of the commons, but many of these are ineffective (Campbell et al. 1993; Mandondo, in prep.). Given the high population densities, marginal lands and grazing lands are being earmarked for agricultural fields for newly-established households; it is these same areas where the sacred woodlands occur. The last decade has seen rapidly escalating livelihood problems, in the face of drought, AIDS and a declining national economy (Mukamuri et al. 1998). The result has been an upsurge in a variety of activities which provide cash income. The raw materials for these activities are usually derived from the commons.

In a recent survey in Zimbabwe, sites of botanical interest were identified (Timberlake 1990). A subsequent survey has shown that many of these areas of high biodiversity are also sacred woodlands (Cunliffe 1995).

Prof. Campbell is the co-ordinator of an EU-funded research project on local institutional arrangements for woodland management in southern Africa. His recent paper investigates whether CAMPFIRE-type arrangements can be extended to other woodland resources (Campbell et al., 1998). Dr. Mukamuri has for a number of years studied the power relations surrounding sacred woodlands (Mukamuri 1996). Ms Sithole is doing her research on institutional arrangements in wetlands, which often contain a sacred woodland (Sithole 1996).

The history of local institutional arrangements in Zimbabwe is one of empowering and dis-empowering the "traditional" leadership. In the post-independence era, new local structures were established, Village Development Committees (VIDCOs), and these took over many of the roles of the traditional leadership (Matose and Wily 1996). In many areas, these new structures had little ability to maintain control over resource use, with the result that local "traditional" rules were weakened, with consequent collapse of the resource base. The current institutional framework is unsatisfactory, with the dual externally-sponsored VIDCOs and the local traditional leadership often being in conflict.

The remarkable fact about many sacred woodlands is that they have persisted in the face of considerable resource pressures in the landscape, though in some areas the sacred woodlands have disappeared (Campbell et al., 1997). In areas where sacred woodlands are protected, it is generally the case that a wider set of common property arrangements are in place and are functioning.

On the basis of some case studies in southern Zimbabwe, it is believed that many sacred woodlands are maintained by the elite in order to control resources (Mukamuri 1996). Thus, for instance, it has been recorded that sacred woodlands that are out of bounds to most of the populace are used for key resources by the elite. This does not appear to be the situation in other areas, where the woodlands are maintained for their genuinely ritual significance (Sithole 1996). In times of hardship (as in droughts) some of the rules may be relaxed so that households can access specific resources.

Three kinds of change are currently being experienced. At the national level, discussion is occurring as to whether the present system characterising local institutions (i.e. the dual system of VIDCOs and traditional institutions) is satisfactory, and new proposals are about to be implemented which will see the combining of the two systems, with the traditional leadership being given more power in the system. This change has been precipitated by the Land Tenure Commission (Rukuni et al. 1995), a commission which heard representations from all layers of societies, and which presented its findings to the President of Zimbabwe. The Commission was also informed by the wide variety of research on local institutional conflicts: for many years the problems of the newly-created VIDCOs had been at the centre of institutional research (Murombedzi 1991: Murphree 1993; Mukamuri, 1996; Campbell et al., 1997; Sithole 1996).

The second type of change is related to the introduction of by-laws. In the 1980s a system of using by-laws to control resource use at the local level was instituted (Mbizo and Mohamed, 1992). Model by-laws, produced at the national level, could be used by rural district councils to regulate resource use within their district. The upsurge in interest in the use of model by-laws was driven by the general debate on the need to decentralise resource control and management to the local level. In some districts the use of by-laws to promote optimal utilisation and protection of sacred woodlands emerged through discussions at the local level, between the traditional and state-sponsored leadership. Our current research is examining the extent to which the interest in using by-laws is driven by the interests of the elite (and their wish to control resources in sacred woodlands), by wider community interests or by interests of the traditional leadership. In other areas, the use of by-laws for sacred woodlands has been prompted by external NGOs, in particular, the Zambezi Society, an organisation that is primarily interested in conservation, and would like to see sacred woodlands at the centre of local conservation programmes. In these districts, CAMPFIRE is also promoted, and many of the CAMPFIRE resources (e.g. elephant) use the sacred woodlands as habitat, thus indicating to the district council (a major beneficiary of CAMPFIRE) a sound economic reason why the sacred woodlands should be protected, and therefore why by-laws should be introduced.

The third kind of change relates to local traditional institutions themselves, which without external pressure attempt to reinforce rules, or create new rules to bolster existing rules (Sithole 1996; Campbell et al., 1997). For instance, some local traditional leaders created various committees or appointed resource monitors to check on the use and state of resources. Although the sacred woodlands are resilient, the institutions governing their use are not static. Changes may be positive, as mentioned above, or may be negative, reflecting conflict within the local traditional leadership. In many cases, there is factional conflict amongst the guardians of the forest (spirit mediums), and the legitimacy of the guardians may change over time, with consequent impacts on the resource

Our research of the next two months will be focusing on the outcomes, but to date it is possible to make some preliminary conclusions. At the national level, the key changes that have been adopted are re-empowerment of the "traditional" leadership. In most districts this will be a welcome move, as in the majority of the study sites, traditional leadership and state-sponsored leadership was in unhealthy conflict. In other areas, the change will have minimal impact, as the traditional leadership remained strong in the era of the VIDCOs (e.g. through local people electing the traditional leader to the VIDCO). If there are any mechanisms at the local level to govern common property resource use, then they are largely controlled by the traditional leadership, thus the move towards empowering traditional leadership is likely to have positive effects. The question which needs to be asked is: can rules be re-instated after having gone through a period when they were relaxed?

Another change adopted, the use of model by-laws, has had limited success. The model by-laws have been used with little alterations to suit local conditions. In the cases where model by-laws were introduced by district councils to control use of sacred woodlands, it appears that elites were using the by-laws to gain control of the resources of the woodland. In the case of NGOs sponsoring change to achieve conservation objectives, the results are also likely to be poor, in that the district council lacks the ability to achieve control over sacred woodlands. The stratagem of the NGO is, if anything, likely to undermine the spiritual nature of the woodlands; it is unlikely that giving the district council control will ensure wise utilisation. The history of resource use in Zimbabwean communal areas has shown that external agencies have had little success in controlling resource use; a series of measures to protect sacred woodlands by external agencies has also had no success previously.

A problem that emerges is that where local leaders have been highly successful in maintaining productive landscapes, the conditions are set for the District Councils to attempt to gain control over the resource (Nhira and Fortmann, 1993). The question of who has the right to dispose of a resource becomes crucial, and needs to be clarified.

In most cases, the sacred nature of the woodlands was not a construct of the elite to maintain control over resources. Where material interests in sacred woodlands by an elite were of primary interest, then there was often an interest rest in the use of by-laws. In genuine examples of sacred woodlands being important for ritual purposes, there did not appear any need to invoke by-laws, as the rules and regulations of the traditional leadership remained strong controlling factors. In such situations, the sacred woodlands were used for their ritual significance, as well as acting as a social security net in times of drought. It has to be recognised, however, that traditional leaders within heterogeneous communities (e.g. those with a large number of recent migrants or where differentiation is marked), are likely to experience difficulties in controlling resource use. For instance, migrants usually do not recognise the authority of the traditional leaders, and the most disadvantaged sector of the non-migrant community may use the opportunity to gain access to large amounts of resources (Mukamuri 1995; Sithole 1997).

Sacred woodlands are important to local communities: they symbolise power and resilience of traditions. They also act as social security nets in times of hardship. The presence of sacred woodlands indicate that a wide range of other common property arrangements are in place. Our work has shown that modern instruments to formalise the control over sacred woodlands, as for instance the use of by-laws, is of limited value. Sacred woodlands are, by definition, in the realm of the spirit, and any attempts to use government-sponsored controls, are not likely to be successful, and may well be attempts by elites, other than the traditional leadership, to gain control.

Much more important as a way forward is the national effort to empower traditional leaders. There are some obvious examples of abuse of power by the traditional leadership. If the state is to have a role in local resource use, it should establish the set of checks and balances within which traditional leaders need to operate.

Another way forward is to promote dialogue amongst traditional leaders from different areas, where certain "best practices" can be discussed and promoted. Thus for instance, institutional innovators amongst the local leadership should be given a forum where they can discuss the results of their systems.