This presentation by Peter John Massyn was delivered at the 'Concessioning tourism opportunities in conservation areas and maximising rural development' workshop, held in Maputo between 19-22 March 2012 (Day 1, Session 2, Legal frameworks)
Discover Mathura And Vrindavan A Spritual Journey.pdf
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Namibia Tourism Concessions Peter John Massyn
1. Protected Areas Network
Tourism Concessions
in Namibiaâs Protected Areas â Line ministry responsible for environment and
tourism (MET)
â Extensive network of PAs & conservancies with
considerable tourism potential
â 20 national parks covering 13% of country
Peter John Massyn â 71 communal conservancies covering 20% of
Maputo country
19 March 2012
â 3 âstate concessionsâ destined to become
âKunene Peoples Parkâ ( including 6,000km2
Palmwag Concession)
Institutional Framework
â Concessions policy approved by Cabinet in 2007
â Operates within existing & draft legal frameworks (Nature
Conservation Ordinance & Parks & Wildlife Bill)
â Replaces ad hoc approach of the past
â Establishes âstandard & robust procedureâ for award &
management of tourism concessions on state land
â Institutional structure:
â Minister is responsible authority with wide discretion
â Concessions Committee appointed by Minister provides advice &
oversight
â Concessions Unit in the Directorate of Tourism does day-to- day
implementation
â Integrated with national CBNRM/conservancy programme
â Strong donor & NGO support (EU, World Bank, UNDP, KfW,
MCA, NACSO, etc.)
Policy Objectives Award Process
Balances conservation, commerce & rural development âThe process for awarding concessions will be transparent, objective and fair, but with the
empowerment of formerly disadvantaged Namibians as a priority, and preference given to
rural communitiesâŠâ
â To enhance biodiversity conservation through
regulation of commercial operations in PAs
â To improve management & control of PAs
â To increase revenue generation from PAs
Direct award
â To increase economic contribution of PAs
Auction
â To advance the âeconomic empowermentâ of
park neighbours and all âformerly Tender
disadvantaged Namibiansâ
â To promote sustainable rural development,
poverty alleviation & job creation
2. Direct Award Progress to Date
â At the discretion of the Minister (after consultation & guided by policy) â Concessions Committee and Concessions Unit established & operational
(with donor & NGO support)
â Preference to âcommunitiesâ resident in or near protected areas
â Standardized procedures & templates adopted & routinely used
â Objective is to âmitigate costsâ, build incentives & stimulate rural development
â Several competitive tenders awarding concessions in parks to private firms
â Community concessionaires must be legally incorporated, ârepresentative, successfully concluded
accountable and stableâ
â Direct award of âhead concessionsâ to communities
â METâs role is to: at Palmwag/Skeleton Coast, Etendeka, Hobatere/Etosha State
& Bwabwata (more to follow) âHead Concession Contractâ
â award âhead concessionsâ to qualifying
communities (mostly conservancies) â Some community concessionaires opted for competitive
tenders to select operating partners (Hobatere, Conservancy
â standardize subaward procedures & oversee
âConcession Operator Contractâ
selection of operating partners White Sands, Bwabwata)
â ensure that communities act in terms of â Others used structured negotiation (RFP, evaluation,
Operator
their mandates & are ânot exploitedâ negotiations, closure) with trusted incumbents to reappoint
operating partners (Etendeka & Palmwag)
Balance Sheet
â Extensive & under-developed resource base
â Well-developed institutional environment:
â Enabling legislation & policy in place
Thank You!
â MET concessions unit operational
â Standardized procedures & documents in use
â Well-developed CBNRM programme
â Established network of support NGOs
â Fairly large domestic tourism sector
â Track record of success
â Uneven political support
â Competition from state resort company (NWR)
â Competition from mining (trumps all)
â Sustainability beyond donor support?
â Recession in tourism source markets