The Namibian community protects its black rhinos from poaching, but could los...

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After years of decline, rhino poaching numbers increased in Namibia in , with the biggest losses occurring in Etosha National Park.
No black rhinos were killed on communal land, however one such successful conservancy is seeing its rhinos driven away by explosions and other activities at a copper mine that the environment minister approved in the area.
The conservancy says the displacement of resident black rhinos threatens the conservation program and tourism revenue, and plans to sue the environment minister.
The //Huab Conservancy dispute highlights weaknesses in the ministry's exercise of environmental regulation.
A community conservancy in Namibia says it plans to sue the country's environment minister if he does not act against a copper mine operating in an area reserved exclusively for tourism.

In an open letter published in February, the //Huab Conservancy Management Committee criticized Minister Pohamba Shifeta for granting an environmental clearance certificate (ECC) to the miner, an individual from Namibia, stating that “the “Rhinos, local jobs and our conservation have been put at risk by this unfounded, uninformed and reckless decision.”

According to Emma Gomes, president of the conservancy, the mine has led the local population of black rhinos ( Diceros bicornis ) to migrate, harming the community's income and the conservation program it runs.

Located in the Kunene region in the northwest of the country, //Huab Conservancy is one of community conservation areas in the area registered under Namibia's Community Based Natural Reso  Special Data  urce Management programme. The CBNRM initiative was initiated by the government in the late s to give local communities legal rights over the management of their lands and natural resources.



“The rhino population in the western Kunene region is not huge, but the IUCN considers it a key population, which means there are more than individuals,” said Andrew Malherbe, chief operating officer of the Save the Rhino Trust (SRT). , an organization that monitors and collects data on black rhinos in support of conservation areas in the northwest of the country.

//Huab Conservancy's letter was published shortly after Shifeta, the minister, released Namibia's latest poaching statistics, which showed an increase in the number of rhinos illegally killed. While only four elephants were reported to have been poached in Namibia in , rhinos were killed, up from in Of these, were critically endangered black rhinos.

The sharp increase raises questions about the country's conservation models. “We note with great concern that our flagship park, Etosha National Park, is a hotspot for poaching,” Environment Ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said in the statement.

All of the rhinos killed were within fenced protected areas, either on commercial farms or in Etosha National Park, which recorded the highest number with cases. No incidents were documented on communal lands such as //Huab Conservancy, which received a small population of black rhinos in through the government's Black Rhino Stewardship Program.

Malherbe said there are several possible reasons why poaching levels remain low in community conservation areas in Kunene, despite there being no fences, technically allowing anyone to enter. In addition to the comprehensive coverage of the landscape by patrol teams, he said years of SRT-led initiatives as well as the CBNRM framework mean that community members have been actively involved in the long-term protection of the landscape. rhinos. On top of that, the region has a very low population density.

“It is difficult for a group of poachers from outside to enter the region because they will almost certainly be detected. We get phone calls from farmers saying, 'There's a dodgy car in the area, we don't know these people, you need to send someone to investigate,'" said Malherbe, who emphasized that SRT is a non-militarized field presence on the ground. , not an anti-poaching unit. “This, in itself, is a deterrent to poachers.”

Namibia has received global recognition for its CBNRM programme. Despite being criticized for persistent weaknesses in governance structures and unequal power dynamics, primarily between communities and private sector partners operating within conservation areas, it has been linked to the recovery of living populations . threatened wildlife , including black rhinos, apparently more effective against poaching than other measures.

Many community conservancies have established joint venture partnerships with private tourism companies to generate revenue. //Huab Conservancy signed a deal with tour operator Ultimate Safaris in , allowing the company to run a tourist camp specializing in tracking black rhinos on foot and receive a share of the profits in return. According to Ultimate Safaris, //Huab Conservancy generated around N$, ($,) through this joint venture per year, including salaries and subsistence allowances.