African Conservation
These words are from the opening paragraphs of Namibia’s Wildlife Crime Report for 2022. You can find the full report here: https://n-c-e.org/sites/default/files/2023-07/Namibia_NationalReport_Wildlife-Protection_2022_F_re1_online_230602_1.pdf
This report may be reproduced for educational or related non-profit purposes without the special permission of the copyright holder, provided that the source is fully acknowledged.
This report should be of interest to our readers who would like to know how African countries are dealing with the threats to their wildlife resources. Namibia leads the continent in its progressive attitude to wildlife management, and to the sustainable use of wildlife as a financial asset to rural communities. Many hunters have had the pleasure of trips to Namibia where the spectacular landscapes, abundant game, friendly people and excellent facilities have provided an outstanding experience. The communal conservancies in the country have demonstrated how wildlife can be a viable alternative to livestock when it is allowed to derive its full value in the marketplace.
In Namibia, eco-tourism flourishes alongside subsistence and conservation hunting to create a sustainable wildlife economy that benefits the communities who share their land with wild animals, and biodiversity protection falls effectively into place in natural habitats that are not disturbed by the cow and the plough. If the futile and ineffective CITES bans on trade in elephant ivory and rhino horn were removed, allowing the full value of these wildlife products to be realised, the nature-based economy of rural Namibia would be far more viable than it already is. If the time and money spent on pursuing and prosecuting elephant and rhino poachers was spent on managing
