Alignment between the costs imposed and benefits produced by program participation should not be ignored. Cattle were often managed by hired herders who did not own them. The evaluation highlighted a number of challenges that stemmed from this dynamic: (i) some herders were not even expected to participate because their cattle-owning employers were unwilling or unable to provide the personal protective equipment the implementer required for participation; (ii) not all herders were willing to meet the demands of CBRLM—the practices required much more exertion than traditional herding and the Namibian climate makes it even more difficult to conduct them; (iii) the lack of herder oversight meant it was difficult to assess whether herders were in fact following the program or address noncompliance; and (iv) there was a lot of turnover of herders (in fact, many of the cattle managers interviewed in 2016 had never even heard of the intervention); all of these challenges had major implications for the continuity of implementation and the potential for sustainability. Perhaps compliance and results would look different if the people expected to implement CBRLM practices were also expected to benefit directly from improvements in range and cattle quality. Where such complexities around ownership and management of resources exist, they should be thoroughly investigated so appropriate incentives can be put in place to facilitate success.
Lesson Learned