A parliamentary oversight mission to the Zambezi, Kavango East and Kavango West regions has revealed that Namibia’s world-renowned community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) programme is at a critical crossroads. While conservancies continue to generate millions for rural communities - over N$30 million in the Zambezi region alone in the last financial year – the parliamentary standing committee on natural resources said the system is held back by outdated frameworks, weak governance and an unhealthy dependence on trophy hunting. The committee, which conducted its oversight visit from 11 to 15 August, found that most conservancies remain stuck at an "elementary level", unable to meet concession standards or develop professional hunting plans. This lack of expertise, their report warned, is costing communities significant value from the wildlife and tourism sectors. Despite being central to Namibia’s conservation success story since 1998, the CBNRM programme has not been modernised to reflect today's rapidly changing economic and environmental landscape, the report states. Conservancies continue to operate under original frameworks that no longer address emerging threats such as escalating human-wildlife conflict, illegal timber harvesting, poaching, land encroachment and increasing competition for land from other sectors, it added.