Inspiring Community Ranger Stories take Centre Stage at the GOSCARs

Whether risking life and limb to prevent elephants from raiding crops, testifying in court against rhino poachers, or keeping a close eye on lions, the six community rangers recognised at this year's Grassroots Owen-Smith Conservation Awards (GOSCARs) fully deserved their accolades. These rangers go above and beyond to serve their communities through education, 24/7 practical assistance, social upliftment and advocacy for community rights.

GOSCARs – Honouring a legacy by inspiring the next generation

The award ceremony held in Windhoek this year was the sixth of its kind. It is held annually in honour of Garth Owen-Smith, who alongside his partner Dr Margaret Jacobsohn, was a pioneer in community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) in Namibia. Dr Jacobsohn initiated the GOSCARs awards with administrative support from the Namibian Chamber of Environment to mark the anniversary of Garth's passing by sharing his legacy with the next generation of community conservationists.

Garth's earliest work involved community game guards who were selected by their communities to help reduce wildlife crime. Today, some game guards may fill specialised roles as Elephant Guards, Lion Rangers, Rhino Rangers or Fish Guards. These diverse roles have a common theme: conserving wildlife for the benefit of rural communities.

The panel of GOSCARs judges welcomes nominations for community rangers that hail from conservancies or community forests. For the first time this year, nominees could be employed by non-government organisations (NGOs) that work in conservancies. Dr Jacobsohn is joined on the panel by Ronny Dempers (Executive Director of Namibia Development Trust) and Beaven Munali (former Assistant Director of Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation (IRDNC)). This experienced panel use their broad and deep knowledge of the CBNRM programme to identify outstanding community rangers.

All nominees are cross-checked to ensure that they have proven track records of dedication to conservation and community welfare. The panel's final deliberations whittle down the nominees to identify individuals who stand out from the rest. Each winner receives a prize of N$ 20,000, while their home community-based organisation receives N$ 10,000. A conservancy award of N$ 100,000 is also up for grabs, but not enough nominations were received this year to award a winner. The winners this year demonstrate inspiring levels of commitment to their communities and conservation.

Gabriel Mwatilefu Absalom – Fighting against poachers and land grabbers

Gabriel is a conservancy game guard from King Nehale Conservancy in the Oshikoto Region who has spent two decades fighting for wildlife and community rights. His work has led to poaching convictions, while he has also given evidence in court regarding black rhino poaching in Etosha National Park. As one of the senior game guards in his conservancy, his commitment and dedication to stopping wildlife crime will reap rewards for his conservancy by allowing game populations to increase.

Gabriel has led the fight against illegal fencing in parts of his conservancy, which would exclude poorer farmers from using these areas and limit wildlife movement. His fight for the rights of his community resulted in him spending a week in jail in 2024, orchestrated by those wanting to fence the area. Despite threats on his life by poachers and land grabbers, Gabriel bravely refuses to back down.

Uezekandavi Nguezeeta – Protecting lions and transforming his community

Kandavi is a senior Lion Ranger from Ehi-Rovipuka Conservancy in the Kunene Region. After joining the Lion Ranger programme as a volunteer in 2013, he monitors lions moving out of Etosha to proactively warn farmers of their presence. This allows increased protection of livestock while the lions are in the area. The data Kandavi and his team collected was used to develop a model for identifying human-lion conflict hotspots, which now assists 11 conservancies in the Kunene Region to prevent conflict. In the last 4.5 years, he has covered 21,647 km during 1,120 patrols conducted on foot, by donkey or vehicle.

Kandavi has become a trainer and mentor for others within his field and beyond. He oversaw the training and deployment of the new Rapid Response Team based on his extensive field experience. Beyond his work to conserve lions, Kandavi has a passion for helping people in his community who struggle with substance abuse and addiction. His work especially helps men to talk about these sensitive issues and seek help to overcome addiction.

Taiwin Garoeb – Using innovation and education to conserve elephants

Taiwin is a head Elephant Guard from Sorris Sorris Conservancy in the Kunene Region who works for Elephant Human Relations Aid (EHRA). His work focuses on educating and empowering communities to live with elephants, personally reaching 600 people with his message of coexistence. People who apply his lessons when they encounter elephants are able to stay safe by reaching higher ground and remaining calm rather than running away. He responds to calls for assistance with elephants approaching homesteads day and night.

Taiwin developed a low-cost deterrent for elephants that has helped many rural residents to protect themselves at night. He applied his knowledge that elephants run from honey bees by suggesting that people download the sound of angry bees and play it through their TVs or speakers. When an elephant approaches their houses, they can use the sound to turn them away in a manner that is safe for both people and elephants. Taiwin shares these and other tips for coexistence via the radio and on other public platforms.

Uezekava Jokaa Tjuma – Fearlessly standing between elephants and people

Jokaa is an elephant ranger and team leader from Okongoro Conservancy in the Kunene Region who works for EHRA. She is one of the few women who works with animals that many would consider dangerous, especially at night. Her work includes sleeping near crop fields during harvest season, training farmers to use chilli bombs and responding to calls for help at all hours.

Jokaa uses her knowledge of elephant behaviour to calmly but firmly encourage elephants to leave areas close to homesteads. On at least one occasion, the call for assistance came from a terrified elderly woman at midnight. Jokaa somehow managed to find transport and came to her rescue, moving two elephants out of the yard. Her bravery is an inspiration to both men and women in her conservancy.

Gustav Haraeb – From young volunteer to leading rhino ranger

Gustav is a community game guard and Rhino Ranger from Doro !nawas Conservancy. He started his career as a voluntary game guard in 2001. Throughout his career, he took his duties to protect wildlife and plants in the conservancy seriously, whether on anti-poaching patrols or through community outreach.

Gustav's dedication was recognised in 2018 when he was selected as a Rhino Ranger. This important role involves tracking rhinos on foot during multi-day patrols and helping other community members to understand the importance of protecting rhinos. His vigilance and quick response to potential threats have led to successful anti-poaching efforts. The ongoing survival of desert-adapted black rhino on communal lands is testament to the dedication of Rhino Rangers like Gustav.

Jauire Allu Uararvi – Keeping lions and livestock safe

Allu is a Human Wildlife Support Team Coordinator from Puros Conservancy who works for IRDNC. He started his conservation career in 2007 as a community game guard in Puros, and became the chairperson of this conservancy in 2017. Shortly thereafter, he joined IRDNC to help reduce human-lion conflict across multiple conservancies in this landscape. His work includes field patrols to monitor lion movements, providing early warning for farmers and responding quickly to conflict incidents.

Allu has saved the lives of countless livestock and several lions during his career. He assisted Dr Flip Stander with lion translocations and has disposed of poisoned meat left out to kill lions and other predators. His work within the early warning system, which provides locations of collared lions, has helped many farmers to better protect their livestock.

Conclusion: Why we recognise community rangers

None of the 2026 GOSCARs winners spent years of their lives working in conservation for only one night of recognition. What drives them is a passion for their people and for the wild animals they have come to know and love. Yet their bravery and dedication should not be overlooked. Many Namibians may not even know what these rangers do, yet they appreciate the conservation success that has been achieved through CBNRM.

The GOSCARs serve remind us that the CBNRM programme is a grassroots initiative that depends on people on the ground working with rural communities. When they are properly supported by their local conservancies, support NGOs and the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, community rangers can conserve Namibia's wildlife effectively and efficiently.