The main purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which CBPR and CBNRM strategies can be utilised in the sustainable exploitation of natural resources by rural communities. In this research, the focus of study was the fishery resource in Zimbabwe and particularly the Ruti dam fishery. The report analyses the ways in which the local communities derive benefit from the Ruti dam within the framework of the existing laws. Further, it also analyses whether the national laws and policies adequately balance the needs of the communities against the ideal of sustainable exploitation, and further still, how these can be reformed to achieve the desired balance. It is recommended that Zimbabwe’s laws and policies on fisheries should be altered to recognise and give legal effect to management strategies in which the local communities directly participate. During the field study on Ruti dam, the local communities suggested ways in which they can participate in the management of the fishery resources whilst providing a safety net for ensuring that their exploitation of the resource is sustainable. The experiences on Mwenje dam in the Mazowe district of Zimbabwe, and in countries like Malawi and Zambia, show that management strategies, where local people have an input, though not perfect, provide a better alternative to the current management regime on Ruti dam and on Zimbabwe’s fishery reservoirs in general.
It is hoped that Zimbabwe will develop the desired legislation and policies on fisheries which recognise that local communities have a stake in natural resources occurring within their areas and that the management of such resources is more efficacious if it has got the communities being directly involved.
On Ruti dam itself, it is hoped that the current command style of management, in which the department of National Parks owns and manages the fishery resources without any involvement by the local communities, will be replaced by a regime in which the communities play a primary role.