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Namibia
Empowering communities to manage their natural resources
When it comes to making the most of its natural resources, Namibia stands apart. It was the first African country to incorporate protection of the environment into its constitution, and the government has reinforced this by giving its communities the opportunity and rights to manage their wildlife through communal conservancies.
Prior to Namibia’s independence, wildlife populations in Namibia’s communal areas had plummeted as a result of prolonged military occupation, extensive poaching and a severe drought. In the mid 1980s this situation began to reverse as a Namibian organization - Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation (IRDNC) - introduced an innovative program to inspire community stewardship of wildlife. Following Namibia’s independence in 1990 – and with WWF’s support, IRDNC’s efforts were transformed into Namibia’s communal conservancy program. Since 1998, the conservancy movement has engaged more than 220,000 community members with the creation of 50 communal conservancies – covering more than 29 million acres of prime wildlife habitat.
Namibia communities now see wildlife as a valued livelihood asset, and are setting aside vast tracts of land as wildlife management areas. As a result, poaching is no longer socially acceptable and there are now restored populations of lions, cheetahs, black rhinos, zebras and other native species. Human welfare is also improving, thanks to nearly $4 million in annual income the conservancies generate for the communities.
WWF's vision: Partner with local communities to empower them to manage their natural resources and ensure a future that includes healthy wildlife populations and sustainable economic growth.
The place. Namibia’s 200 million acres include five distinct geographical areas: the Central Plateau, the Namib Desert, the Escarpment, the Bushveld and the Kalahari Desert. The landscape ranges from ocean shores to woodland savannas, from lush floodplains to picturesque deserts. Only a small fraction of Namibia is suitable for farming due to the arid climate and frequent droughts.
The species. Along the coast the plankton-rich waters support an extraordinary array of marine biodiversity, including an increasing number of southern right whales. Further inland springbok, gemsbok and black-faced impala have all staged multifold increases, and local populations of endangered Hartmann’s zebra are on the rise. Namibia’s communal conservancies boast the largest free-roaming population of black rhino in Africa, while Namibia has the largest cheetah population in the world.
The people. Namibia’s population of 2 million people comprises 14 native groups speaking 26 different languages. The majority live in the northern part of the country. Poverty remains widespread, but one area of expanding economic development is the communal conservancy movement, which links conservation to poverty alleviation through sustainable use of natural resources.
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