Impacts of commercialising Commiphora wildii in two conservancies in North Western Namibia

Includes bibliographical references.The role that non-timber forest products (NTFPs) play in the lives of rural people is increasingly acknowledged. Commercialising these products is seen as a strategy to alleviate poverty in developing countries. In this study one such product is explored, namely an essential oil derived from the Namibian plant Commiphora wildii (C. wildii). This NTFP is valued for its scent and is used in the manufacturing of perfumes. The resin is harvested by the Himba indigenous group in north western Namibia. The harvesters who took part in this study reside in the Puros and Orupembe registered conservancies and community forests, which are part of the Namibian government’s community based natural resource management (CBNRM) programme. Commiphora wildii is used traditionally by the Himba as a perfume in a daily beauty ritual. The aim of this research is to determine the impacts of commercialising C. wildii on the communities in the two conservancies. This study 1) examines the process of commercialisation 2) analyses the impacts on the harvesters in terms of changes in culture, economic impacts, social benefits and problems that have arisen and 3) To provide recommendations to the options that could be considered to mitigate negative impacts