A collage of stills taken from the videos below.

Namibia's Wildlife Economy

Namibia is known for its abundant wildlife and extensive natural landscapes, yet the story behind the success is rarely told and fully understood. After a dramatic crash of wildlife numbers during the colonial days, a few key policies turned the situation around. Now, Namibia has more wildlife outside state protected areas than within them, and more wild animals than at any time during the last 100 years.

How did this happen? What drives our success, and can it be replicated in other countries? How do external threats such as hunting trophy import bans threaten our wildlife economy, and what can we do about them? These questions and more are answered in our Wildlife Economy Film series. Find a brief synopsis of the whole series here, or watch all the episodes below.

Namibia's Wildlife Economy – Short Film [7:41]

This quickfire highlights package presents key principles of the wildlife economy; featuring subtitles in French, German and Spanish. 1) Ownership and use rights over wildlife; 2) Maximising the value of wildlife to local people; 3) Reducing the cost of human-wildlife conflict; and 4) Ultimately conserving natural ecosystems and globally important species such as black rhino. In the light of threats by other countries to ban the importation of hunting trophies from Namibia its neighbours, this quick film explains the role that hunting tourism (a.k.a. trophy hunting) plays in the overall wildlife economy and the potential consequences of bans.

Namibia's Wildlife Economy – Feature Film [36:07]

The best insights from our panel of scientists, government and community representatives, and freehold farmers. This film explains the history of Namibia’s people and wildlife that provides the necessary context for exploring the present-day wildlife economy. Each interviewee brings a unique perspective, yet all are agreed that conservation success starts with the rights to wildlife and economic incentives to conserve it. Hunting tourism that generates foreign exchange is a key part of the wildlife economy, alongside photographic tourism, live sales at auctions, and meat hunting for the domestic market. We invite anyone who supports hunting bans to visit Namibia and see for yourself.

Interviews

Dr Chris Brown, Namibian Chamber of Environment [63:27]

Chris Brown has been closely involved in Namibia's wildlife management policies and conservation strategies before and since independence. This in-depth interview covers the principles of the wildlife economy and puts it in context with the broader goals of nature conservation and rural development, especially in the face of climate change. He explains how trophy hunting and international trade of wildlife are beneficial for nature conservation and have fewer animal welfare concerns than intensive animal farming. His advice for policy makers worldwide is to learn from and support Namibia and its neighbouring countries with similarly successful wildlife policies.

Bennett Kahuure, Ministry of Environment and Tourism [21:02]

Bennett Kahuure is the Director of National Parks and Wildlife at the Ministry of Environment and Tourism. He provides a thorough overview of Namibia’s national policies regarding wildlife conservation, especially those that apply to land outside national parks. In communal lands, the costs of living with dangerous wildlife can be high, but these are offset by the income generated from tourism, hunting and other nature-based industries. He argues strongly that policy makers in other countries need to visit Namibia and consult thoroughly with the people who are most affected by anti-hunting proposals.

Chief Joseph Mayuni, Traditional Authority [26:41]

His Royal Highness Mayuni is the traditional authority of the Mafwe people of Mashi, who established their own communal conservancy in northeastern Namibia. He played an important role in advocating for people living on communal lands to regain the rights to use wildlife sustainably, reflecting their traditional practices prior to colonialism and apartheid. He explains how his people live with wildlife and have engaged in the wildlife economy to increase benefits and improve their livelihoods. In his view, non-African policy makers must listen to the people who live with wildlife before making their decisions.

Axel Cramer, Namibia Professional Hunting Association (NAPHA) [27:05]

Axel Cramer is the current chairperson of NAPHA, a voluntary association of hunters in Namibia that adhere to high ethical standards in their field. He explains how hunting works in Namibia in terms of licensing and quota setting, which ensures sustainable use and contributions to the economy. This is in contrast to poaching, which does not support the economy and disregards animal welfare and sustainability concerns. While hunting trophy import bans will not stop Namibians from hunting, it will reduce the economic incentives for maintaining wildlife and natural habitat outside state protected areas.

Dr Rodgers Lubilo, Community Leaders Network of Southern Africa (CLN) [16:13]

Rodgers Lubilo comes from Zambia and grew up in the area close to South Luangwa National Park. Communities in Zambia derive benefits from hunting and tourism, although they do not have the same decision-making power that Namibian communities have. He encourages African governments across the region to devolve the ownership and rights over wildlife to the local communities who bear the most costs of living with wild animals. Non-African nations should thank Africans for conserving these species and support their conservation efforts, which includes maintaining a strong wildlife economy.

Prof. Brian Child, University of Florida and Stellenbosch University [42:09]

Brian Child grew up in Zimbabwe. His father was a conservationist that led many early government reforms in Zimbabwe and Botswana regarding the ownership and use of wildlife. He sees the wildlife economy as a major driver for rewilding Africa and contributing meaningfully to sustainable development. In this interview, he demonstrates the logic behind the sustainable use and legal international trade of wildlife. Community conservation, in particular, has the potential to reduce poverty, promote democratic principles, and develop a uniquely African approach to wildlife conservation.

Nabot Mbeeli, Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF) [9:42]

Nabot Mbeeli worked as a Senior Coordinator on the Community-Based Natural Resource Management Programme at NNF. He emphasises the wildlife economy in communal areas as an engine for rural development and community empowerment at the grassroots level. Communal conservancies use a mix of tourism and hunting to generate income; which of these income streams is more important depends on where the conservancies are located relative to key tourism routes and attractions. He advocates for allowing communities to make their own decisions on these matters, without external bans or pressure on the hunting industry.

Danene van der Westhuysen, professional hunter and game rancher [25:04]

Danene van der Westhuysen grew up on a Namibian farm and learned to hunt for food from her father. She is passionate about living off the land and promoting a natural lifestyle. As a freehold game rancher, her operations on two extensive properties include all aspects of the wildlife economy, although trophy hunting contributes the most income. In this interview, she explains how tourism and hunting fit together, and both contribute to conservation outcomes—including Namibia's flagship black rhino custodianship programme.

Tebogo James, Tcheku Community Trust, Botswana [15:53

Tebogo James represents a community has the rights to benefit from wildlife in a concession area bordering with Namibia. Since 2022, the only income they have derived is through hunting, although they would like to expand to photographic tourism in future. The hunting income from elephants and other wildlife has been used to purchase a vehicle, install solar electricity, improve Internet access, and build a supermarket. The overall goal is to bring goods and services closer to people living in remote villages and to improve their livelihoods. He views trophy import bans as unfair, since they would reduce the income for rural development and “suffocate” communities such as his.

Hannes du Plessis, member of Namibia Professional Hunting Association (NAPHA) [27:21]

Hannes du Plessis grew up on a Namibian cattle farm that switched to wildlife due to disease and prolonged drought. Wild animals are more drought- and disease-resistant than cattle, and can be used in multiple ways that cattle cannot. The foreign exchange generated through trophy hunting allows Hannes to employ three times more people than a similar-sized cattle farm. The hunting tourism industry involves a long value chain that creates many jobs in Namibia, including taxidermy to prepare trophies for export. He challenges those who oppose hunting to fully replace the revenue that would be lost if hunting tourism came to an end.

Ivan Carter, conservationist, guide and photographer, Zimbabwe [17:59]

Ivan Carter makes the case for hunting and legalising the trade in wildlife commodities such as rhino horn and elephant ivory. Where the land owners and local communities have ownership over wildlife and benefit from the sale of wildlife-based products and services, they have a greater incentive and financial means to conserve wildlife and its habitat. The wildlife economy and local ownership model in southern Africa is clearly more successful than protectionist, state-ownership models used elsewhere in Africa.

For articles on similar topics, please click one of the following options:

If you enjoyed this page, then you might also like: