Conservation
and the Environment in Namibia

Helge Denker

Wildlife crime in Namibia is being tackled on many fronts. More anti-poaching efforts, better investigations and more stringent penalties are bearing fruit by reducing poaching rates and increasing arrests. Special wildlife courts were set up to deal with the large backlogs in cases involving wildlife crime. The sentences passed by these courts have sent a strong message: wildlife crime in Namibia does not pay.
Read more...

Kelsey Prediger

Pangolins that are caught up in the illegal wildlife trade have been removed from their home ranges, traumatised and starved. Some rescued pangolins can be restored to health and released into the wild, but that is not the end of the story. Data from released pangolins reveal that survival is far from certain. Studying the movements of released individuals can help improve the success rate of these efforts.
Read more...

GCF & UNAM

Wildlife veterinary medicine is a highly specialised field that requires knowledge of many different species. This knowledge is not easily available in Africa, which puts young African vets aspiring to specialise in wildlife at a disadvantage. Eight vets from five African countries therefore jumped at the opportunity to join a course held in Namibia covering both theoretical and practical aspects of wildlife veterinary medicine.
Read more...

NCE, LCMAN, and MEFT

A new publication on the conservation status of Namibia's 34 terrestrial carnivore species is now available to the public. Representing the combined effort and knowledge of 25 species assessors, 30 contributors and 31 reviewers, this book provides the most up to date information on carnivores in Namibia. The key threats to species of conservation concern and potential actions to address these threats and improve the conservation status of Namibia's are highlighted here.
Read more...

John Mendelsohn, Elizabeth Shangano and Fillemon Shatipamba

While the fairy circles of the Namib are well known and hotly debated, there are similar natural phenomena found in Namibia and Angola that have received much less attention. Dubbed in this article as "fairy spheres" and "fairy forests", the authors suggest some potential causes for these rounded areas and suggest directions for further research on how such shapes are created in nature.
Read more...

WWF Namibia

Combating wildlife crime requires a multi-pronged, organised approach that brings together monitoring, anti-poaching, law enforcement and judiciary efforts. Several projects are happening concurrently in Namibia to address all of these aspects of the fight against wildlife crime. Namibia is making strides towards preventing poaching from occurring, deterring potential poachers and shutting down illegal trafficking routes.
Read more...

Liz Komen

Pangolin conservation requires a whole of society approach. Everyone must care enough about the pangolin to report poaching or trafficking when they see it. Yet not many people know much about this species. This is where art can play a leading role. A creative writing competition for the youth and an art exhibition for adults were both used to get the message out about pangolins.
Read more...

Lara Potma

Tourism Supporting Conservation Trust (TOSCO) is celebrating 10 years of contributing to conservation in Namibia. TOSCO has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 2012 when one tour guide had a dream: to help communal conservancies address their many challenges with funding from the tourism industry. Despite the impact of COVID-19, TOSCO is still going strong and has a new Director and vision for the future.
Read more...

John Heydinger

Whether you see Namibia's desert-adapted lions as iconic, beautiful and threatened with extinction, or fearsome, destructive and increasing depends on who you are and where you live. The Lion Rangers programme was created to address human-lion conflict and help farmers in the Kunene Region to see lions in a different light using both science and local knowledge.
Read more...

Gail Thomson

In 2022, two new Atlases were released - one for adults and one for children. The nearly 400-page Atlas of Namibia: its land, water and life provides the very latest information on nine major aspects of the country, complete with hundreds of graphs, maps and photographs. My Children’s Picture Atlas of Namibia is a 40-page visual journey through Namibia that is suitable for use in the home and at school. This is Namibia, for all ages.
Read more...

Shirley Bethune, Petra Mutota, Lucrensia Ndeilitunga

Invasive alien plants cause serious environmental damage in Namibia. They smother native vegetation, take up valuable land, hurt animals, pollute water courses and diminish groundwater. The newly established Invasive Alien Working Group is tackling this problem on several fronts: manual removal, biological control, public awareness and mapping current problem species. Find out how you can help.
Read more...

Siphiwe Lutibezi and Ingelore Katjingisiua

Under the 2022 Earth Hour theme Shape Our Future, 57 young adults from 23 communal conservancies were trained and empowered to become stewards of nature and create awareness among their communities. In just a few months, they recorded 380 biodiversity records, held meetings and events in their conservancies and started a national Youth in Conservation movement that has a bright future.
Read more...

John Pallett

Around the world, birds pay the consequences for the human need for electricity. The large power lines that transmit electricity in Namibia are no different. Big birds like kori bustards, Ludwig's bustards and cranes are particularly hard hit. While there are some effective ways to reduce mortality for cranes, there are no current solutions for bustards. Using less electricity or switching to solar power are some of the ways you can help.
Read more...

Alice Jarvis

You can become a citizen scientist by downloading the Atlasing in Namibia mobile application, which allows you to take records of mammals, snakes and other reptiles, frogs and toads, butterflies, breeding birds and plants in Namibia. The information you provide is then used to inform conservation assessments, actions and infrastructure development. Become part of conservation by downloading the app.
Read more...

The Namibian Journal of Environment (NJE) is an online scientific journal that is now in its sixth year of publication. It has been supported by NCE since its inception and creates a platform for interested parties from all walks of life to submit contributions to be considered for publication.
Read more...

The NCE focuses on environmental science, and their stance on any given project is therefore based on environmental science and the need for sustainable development. Based on these principles, we support projects that have low environmental impact and high potential to create jobs and boost the economy.
Read more...