One example of a successful effort at decentralizing political authority comes from Namibia, where the government is currently addressing the twin goals of environment protection and rural economic development through an innovative policy of communitybased natural resource management. The core of this policy change involves devolving use and management rights over wildlife and other resources to local communities (as opposed to local governments), who self-organize into communal conservancies. This devolution of authority legally empowers the poor with responsibilities as well as opportunities that previously did not exist for them to benefit from the use of natural resources.