Namibia still has significant stocks of wildlife and other natural resources in many of its northern communal lands. Entrenched within the country's constitution is policy which promotes the use of living natural resources on a sustainable basis for the benefit of all Namibians, both present and future. Furthermore, one of Namibia's development objectives is to alleviate poverty and create employment opportunities. The resource economics programme in the Directorate of Environmental Affairs aims to ensure that allocation of resources in relation to the environment is optimal. One resulting objective is to determine which use of natural resources optimises both economic benefits to Namibia and also benefits to communities.