The role of communities in conservancies

Looking at people coming out in numbers and navigating a worn-down 80-kilometre road to Sheya Shuushona Conservancy Lodge in the Otamanzi constituency is a reminder that individuals and communities can make a difference for conservation.Environment minister Pohamba Shifeta on Thursday handed over a solar plant to the Sheya Shuushona Conservancy Lodge, funded to the tune of N$5 million under the Ecosystem Based Adaptation Investment Window under the Empower to Adapt (EDA) project, which is centred around Creating Climate Change Resilient Livelihoods through Community Based Natural Resource Management in Namibia (CBNRM-EDA Project).Vaino-Ipinge Kelimwe (91), a local leader, is part of the conservancy committee.He, together with others, have created a plan to sustain themselves in their community.He said in 2012 he was part of the group tasked with managing the lodge and the conservancy.Together as oneKelimwe said they began by choosing respected people in the community to be community game guards, who would monitor both wildlife and human activities and conduct conservation extension work in their communities."When we received training on how to take care of the lodge, we were educated that the lodge would not benefit one person. It is for the entire community to depend on it. Should natural disasters such as drought, which may cause hunger, hit, the people in this area will be able to sustain themselves with proceeds from the lodge," he said.The aim, Kelimwe said, is to incorporate community-based approaches into their national biodiversity strategies.Kelimwe’s face brightens up when speaking about the work they do.Protect what is oursNevertheless, there are also challenges, such as poaching."What breaks our hearts now is that the areas had wild animals everywhere. Now you will be counting and you will record half a page. In the past, I would record at least four pages," a committee member said.Currently, about 20% of Namibia’s land is protected under community wildlife conservancies.Kelimwe said they realised that poaching was getting worse, and that the government alone did not have the resources to patrol such vast areas."The aim of protecting the environment, as the ancestors would say: ‘Omusi teithigiko, omuvalwa teyaadha’. The dead will leave it behind and the newborn will find it, so the legacy continues," he said.Bigger challengesShifeta said he has seen and experienced the struggle and drudgery of most community-based organisations in the absence of basic energy service facilities.He said many promising community-based establishments, especially those in very remote corners of the country, usually close down as a result of high operational costs related to fuel and other expenses."[This] has come at an opportune time, a time when CBNRM communities are adopting to diversify livelihoods options in the face of severe climatic challenge," Shifeta said.Benefits thousandsThe Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia&#039;s corporate communication manager, Lot Ndamanomhata, said the project is a clear manifestation of local-level empowerment and ownership.Ndamanomhata said the project has to date benefitted total of 3 551 people and created 17 jobs during the course of the solar plant&#039;s installation.Ten young Namibians were trained to operate, maintain and administer the solar plant.In Namibia, 86 communal conservancies involving more than 200 000 people protect over 20% of the land.

The role of communities in conservancies

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-05

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The role of communities in conservancies

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-05

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