45% of the land in Namibia is under conservation management. This includes communal conservancies, private or freehold farmland, national parks, and protected areas.

Development in Namibia is linked to its natural resources: land, water, minerals, and wildlife; and agriculture, mining and tourism are the backbone of Namibia’s economy.  Together with human population growth and settlement sprawl, these competing land uses can create dilemmas between building the country’s economy and protecting its natural resources.

Livestock farming, agriculture and settlement often clashes with wildlife and conservation agendas. Overgrazing, livestock encroachment into areas set aside exclusively for wildlife, over-abstraction of water, unsustainable agricultural production including slash-and burn, illegal timber harvesting, bush encroachment and rangeland degradation, unsustainable fishing, loss of wildlife corridors, and at times damaging development projects all have profound negative impacts on existing conservation programmes.  It is key that constructive dialogue, innovation and forward-thinking strategies are reached to create lasting, sustainable solutions.  

WWF is working with our partners in communal conservancies on land management issues, training natural resource monitors, providing technical and financial assistance to annual game counts, and helping conservancies to establish and protect core wildlife zones.  

We are helping conservancy farmers use conservation agriculture methods and to adopt good livestock grazing practices, to rehabilitate grasslands and open savannas, enhance the carrying capacity of rangelands including for wildlife, reduce soil loss and increase water retention; and improve the productivity of these for the benefit of Namibian society.

WWF is applying inclusive conservation efforts across large landscape conservation areas as diverse as the Kavango-Zambezi Tranfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA); Namibia’s northwest, including the Skeleton Coast Park; and other large landscapes that will help to strengthen the ecological, social integrity and protection of the region.  

WWF supports research that examines the movement and habitat requirements of elephants and large predators to help mitigate human-wildlife conflict.  

WWF continues its work with stakeholders in the mining and environmental sectors to strengthen governance, to ensure that appropriate environmental assessments are undertaken, and mitigation measures adhered to, and to encourage the development of alternative, renewable energy sources.