Conservation
and the Environment in Namibia

Elephant Human Relations Aid

Community elephant guards are working on the frontlines of conservation in northwest Namibia. They respond to human-elephant conflict incidents reported in their communities to repair damages and reduce future incidents. The guards teach people about elephant behaviour and how to stay safe when seeing elephants on foot. These efforts promote human-elephant coexistence.

Gail C. Thomson

Brown hyaenas living along the coast of Namibia are known for preying on Cape fur seal pups, but they are not very powerful hunters and have never been recorded killing adult seals. Until now. Meet Tivat, the female hyaena who is rewriting the script for her species with her astonishing hunting prowess.

Jones, Naftal, Diesse, Uusiku, Godlee, Dexter, and De Cauwer

Long-term studies on Africa's woodlands are needed to increase our knowledge of the system and how changes affect ecosystem function. Namibia is part of an Africa-wide woodland monitoring network that facilitates collaboration among local and international universities to tackle key research topics. Some of the studies in Namibia are highlighted here.

Gail C. Thomson and Mike Murray-Hudson

A new report reveals that developments along the Okavango (or Cubango) River in Angola and Namibia continue virtually uncontrolled. The overuse of water, deforestation, increasing commercial agriculture, and growing settlements all combine to threaten the ecosystem. This is especially troubling for the Okavango Delta in Botswana, which is economically and environmentally irreplaceable.

Giraffe Conservation Fund

Did you know that there are four species of giraffe in Africa, not just one? This new classification is a result of numerous scientific studies, many of which involved the Namibia-based Giraffe Conservation Foundation. Separating the four species helps to highlight their different conservation statuses and needs, which then guide national action plans.

GIZ and KfW

During the last 35 years, the German government has been a strong supporter of Namibian conservation through financial and technical support. Looking back on the highlights and achievements of this period, both countries can be proud of their achievements. The remaining challenges will be tackled together as the partnership continues.

Namibia Nature Foundation

The African Penguin was recently classified as Critically Endangered, as its population has dropped severely in Namibia and South Africa, the only countries where it occurs. Overfishing, especially near their breeding islands, is the main cause of this decline and must be addressed urgently to avoid extinction in the near future.

Dr Catherine Hauw, Dr Anne Schmidt-Küntzel, and Dr Laurie Marker

Lead is toxic to humans and animals, yet few studies have been done on the effect of lead bullets on meat-eating mammals. Evidence from new studies in Namibia reveal that lead is dangerous to cheetahs and leopards. This has implications for feeding captive cheetahs, disposing of game offal, and human health among game meat eaters.

Herta Kolberg and Sofia Amakali

Knowing the distribution and abundance of endemic and near-endemic plants in Namibia is important to inform environmental impact assessments, guide conservation planning, and increase the benefits of plants to local communities. The current work on developing and maintaining an open access plant database for Namibia needs long-term financial support.

Morgan Hauptfleisch and Michael Wenborn

Elephants living in the mountainous area between Etosha National Park and the lower Hoanib River have adapted to their environment by climbing steep slopes to access their favoured plants. Their movements and habits are being studied using a combination of traditional knowledge from local community game guards and satellite collars.

Morgan Hauptfleisch

People who know little about a subject tend to be far more confident in their opinions than people who know a lot. This phenomenon is known as the Dunning-Kruger effect. Prof. Morgan Hauptfleisch shows how trophy hunting and culling are examples of Dunning-Kruger in action, which has negative implications for conservation.

Margretha Kampulu

Technology and tradition meet in the Wildlife Credits project in northeastern Namibia, as camera traps are being used to reward successful community conservation efforts. Payments to communal conservancies are made when rare or dangerous wild animals are caught on camera, thus reducing human-wildlife conflict and creating real value for local people.

Neil Shaw and Jessica Kemper

Marine fisheries in the Benguela Current, managed by Namibia and South Africa, are severely depleted due to over-fishing of sardines/pilchards. Strong conservation measures are needed in both countries to restore the ecosystem to a more productive state. This will benefit both human fishing communities and marine life, including endangered seabirds.

Namibian Chamber of Environment

Which energy options should Namibia develop, for its own needs and for export? This summary presents the pros and cons of oil and gas, hydropower, wind and solar, green hydrogen, bush biomass, and nuclear energy. Taking all of these considerations, we recommend a path forward to reduce domestic energy costs and increase exports.