1. a CBNRM coordinating body; 
2. a CBNRM Secretariat; and the 
3. COMPASS Partners Association.

The COMPASS Team has initiated the process of creating a loose association of partners that comprise promoters and practitioners of CBNRM in Malawi who seek opportunities to share information on best practices and otherwise collaborate on natural resource management initiatives that are community focused. Whereas the coordinating body serves an important leadership function, members of the Partners Association are the implementers of the CBNRM Strategic Plan and policies.  

The Association include an unlimited number of the following stakeholders:  

 
• Staff of the Department of Environmental Affairs (EAD), particularly the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit, Education and Outreach Unit, and Policy and Planning Unit; Departments of Forestry, Fisheries (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs), Department of National Parks and Wildlife (Ministry of Tourism, National Parks and Wildlife) and the Department of Land Resources Conservation (Ministry of Agriculture & Irrigation); and other Government line agencies;
• District and Local Government staff especially Environmental District Officers;
• Community-based organizations and professional associations;
• Staff of community development and environmental NGOs (CURE  and Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi among others);
• Staff of projects that support, or have the potential to support, community-based initiatives;
• Staff of donor agencies; 
• Members of private sector corporations and associations (tourism groups, Tobacco Association of Malawi, Chamber of Commerce,);
• Staff of educational and research institutions (Chancellor and Bunda Colleges, Forestry Research Institute of Malawi, Agricultural Research Extension Trust, ICRAF); and
• Members of the media.

 

COMPASS continues to develop communication tools and capacities to allow geographically dispersed partners to locate each other and exchange information, even if they cannot meet directly.  Our strategy includes the use of Internet-based communication tools but we recognize that we cannot limit ourselves to this medium since many Partners do not have access to the technology.We therefore develop and facilitate other means of communication such as newsletters and radio programs.  We do, however, recognize that there has been a burgeoning of newsletters relating to CBNRM activities in Malawi.  Currently, there are at least six that deal with this and related issues including those of CURE, Wildlife Society, MEET, TSP, CABUNGO and CONGOMA. We are reluctant to start another independent publication and are exploring opportunities to share space and costs with existing publications. 

At present, the COMPASS ListServ comprises close to 150 organizations and individuals in Malawi and the broader region that are involved in CBNRM (see COMPASS Internal Report 9 - Directory of COMPASS ListServ Members).  We have constructed the ListServ in such a way that seven different groups of organizations are disaggregated (government, NGOs, private sector, projects and programs, donors, education and media, and regional partners).  To date the ListServ has been used mainly to disseminate information but we plan to launch a more interactive initiative in 2001 that aims to encourage greater use of the facility by our partners and help solicit opinions and feedback on CBNRM activities.