Elephant Management in Namibia
Balancing Rural Development With Protection of African Wildlife
Sep 23, 2008
While tourism based wildlife activities are recognized as a source of income, members of the conservancies still suffer from crop raiding and water source damage by African elephants ((Loxodonta africana). Limited trophy hunting still occurs, particularly in areas where income from non-consumptive use of the elephants is limited and income from the elephant hunt is viewed as necessary for human survival.
Desert Adapted Elephants
The elephants of the Namib desert area are considered unique in that they have developed strategies to survive in the marginal habitat of desert and fringe areas. These elephants are smaller and feed primarily on the seedpods from the Ana tree (Faidherbia albida), a type of acacia. Interestingly, as poaching has been reduced, these desert-adapted elephants are returning to less marginal areas.
Illegal Poaching of Namibia’s Elephants
In the 1980s poaching of elephants and other endangered African species, such as rhinoceros, was a serious problem throughout Namibia. The ivory trade provided income to an area where limited rainfall made agricultural activities marginal at best.
The Development of Rural Conservancies
Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation (IRDNC), a Namibian non-governmental organization (NGO) has played an important role in creating local conservancies which are, in large part, responsible for the recovery of the African elephant and other wildlife species, by providing the people of the region with assistance in developing alternative livelihoods and teaching co-existence.
Elephant-Human Relations Aid (EHRA), another NGO, monitors elephants and aids local communities in preventing conflict with the elephants. Protecting local water catchments and teaching farmers ways of preventing crop raiding have gone a long way toward ensuring local people view the elephants in a positive light.
What the Conservancies Have Accomplished
Probably the most impressive statistic from the IRDNC website is that in rural Namibia, one in four people is a member of a conservancy. This high participation rate has resulted in a virtual end to both commercial and subsistence poaching in the country as local people are invested in protecting local wildlife.
Some communities are earning a reasonable income from their own tourist concessions or from joint ventures with other tourism groups. That money is funneled into improving local services including schools and public water supplies, as well as preventing human-animal conflict. Other communities have not yet realized consistent income from their communal activities and that resulted in some concerns.
The 2008 Elephant Trophy Hunt Controversy
Permits were issued in 2008 for the trophy hunting of three bull elephants in the Kunene region, home to the desert adapted animals which are slowly recovering from poaching in the 1980s. This has caused an outcry from conservation organizations, with good reason.
There is uncertainty about the size of the Kunene elephant population but what is known about these elephants is that the male to female ratio is still unbalanced from the earlier legal hunting and poaching which targeted bulls with large tusks. Taking more bulls is not in the best interest of the recovery of the elephant population.
Garth Owen-Smith presents a well-reasoned discussion of the issues in an opinion piece for The Namibian which puts the onus on conservation organizations, safari lodges and other businesses which profit from tourist interest in the conservation of the elephants.
Namibia has made tremendous progress in balancing human and elephant needs. A little more support as the conservancies continue to work toward financial independence seems a small price to pay to ensure they continue to protect their elephants.
