Film fetes success of Namibian community initiative

NAMIBIA’S desert lion population in the Kunene Region has made an impressive recovery from fewer than 30 cats in the late 1990s to almost 100 animals today, says the head of the desert lion conservation project in the region.

When the Kunene Lion Project was established in the late 1990s, there were only about 20 desert lions. In the 1970s and 1980s, it was thought that the population had gone extinct because there was a lot conflict between desert lions and people at that time.But from 2000 onwards the population increased and Namibia now has about 100 desert lions, says Dr Flip Stander.Stander is one the Namibian conservationists who features in a just-released documentary film on the wide range of benefits Namibia’s Community-Based Natural Resources programme has brought.Stander attributed the increase in the number of desert lions to the creation of conservancies, as they have given people an appreciation of the value of the animals.Titled ‘By the people, for the people – communities and conservation in Namibia’, the documentary interviews people leading conservation projects, conservancy game guards, conservancy members, Government officials, traditional leaders and trophy hunters.PIVOTAL Veteran conservationist Garth Owen-Smith says in the 1970s and 1980s, rural communities did not view wildlife as a valuable resource because there were not benefiting from it, except by poaching.Owen-Smith, the Co-Director of the Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation (IRNDC), applauded some traditional leaders for having played a vital role in the creation of conservancies and community game guards in their areas, which led to a large increase in wildlife numbers.”The conservancy programme has grown from a pilot project to a major development project from only four conservancies in 1998 to 50 today,” says Colgar Sikopo, the Deputy Director of Parks and Wildlife Management.Conservancies have also helped to increase the number of black rhino, which had been hunted to the verge of extinction.Efforts to reintroduce the black rhino in conservancies in the north-west have resulted in the largest free-roaming population in the world.The number of conflicts between people and wild animals has increased, though.SEEKING HARMONY Measures to deal with this include the Conservancy Self-Insurance Scheme, under which conservation groups and conservancies compensate farmers for livestock losses.”IRNDC pays 50 per cent and the conservancy pays 50 per cent,” says IRNDC field worker Beavan Munali.To deter animals from destroying crops, chilli peppers and elephant dung are mixed with water and left to dry.These ‘chilli bombs’ are then set on fire to drive away elephants from homesteads.Conservancies have also helped in bringing plant resources such as marula nuts, whose oil can be used in cosmetics, and devil’s claw, which has medicinal value, into the international market.The predominantly San members of the Nyae-Nyae Conservancy – the first conservancy to be registered in 1998 – earn an income from the sustainable harvest of devil’s claw.At the end of last year, Namibia’s 50 registered communal conservancies had generated over N$39 million and conservancies were covering 14 per cent of Namibia’s land surface.This is according to the 2007 State of the Conservancy Report that was launched in Windhoek in June.About 220 000 people from various ethnic groups live in conservancies, which had created close to 1 000 full-time jobs and 6 227 part-time jobs by the end of last year.The documentary is to be shown on NBC television this Sunday at 17h30.The documentary was produced by Quiet Storm Film Productions and is narrated by Natasha Lemoela.In the 1970s and 1980s, it was thought that the population had gone extinct because there was a lot conflict between desert lions and people at that time.But from 2000 onwards the population increased and Namibia now has about 100 desert lions, says Dr Flip Stander.Stander is one the Namibian conservationists who features in a just-released documentary film on the wide range of benefits Namibia’s Community-Based Natural Resources programme has brought.Stander attributed the increase in the number of desert lions to the creation of conservancies, as they have given people an appreciation of the value of the animals.Titled ‘By the people, for the people – communities and conservation in Namibia’, the documentary interviews people leading conservation projects, conservancy game guards, conservancy members, Government officials, traditional leaders and trophy hunters. PIVOTAL Veteran conservationist Garth Owen-Smith says in the 1970s and 1980s, rural communities did not view wildlife as a valuable resource because there were not benefiting from it, except by poaching.Owen-Smith, the Co-Director of the Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation (IRNDC), applauded some traditional leaders for having played a vital role in the creation of conservancies and community game guards in their areas, which led to a large increase in wildlife numbers.”The conservancy programme has grown from a pilot project to a major development project from only four conservancies in 1998 to 50 today,” says Colgar Sikopo, the Deputy Director of Parks and Wildlife Management.Conservancies have also helped to increase the number of black rhino, which had been hunted to the verge of extinction.Efforts to reintroduce the black rhino in conservancies in the north-west have resulted in the largest free-roaming population in the world.The number of conflicts between people and wild animals has increased, though. SEEKING HARMONY Measures to deal with this include the Conservancy Self-Insurance Scheme, under which conservation groups and conservancies compensate farmers for livestock losses.”IRNDC pays 50 per cent and the conservancy pays 50 per cent,” says IRNDC field worker Beavan Munali.To deter animals from destroying crops, chilli peppers and elephant dung are mixed with water and left to dry.These ‘chilli bombs’ are then set on fire to drive away elephants from homesteads.Conservancies have also helped in bringing plant resources such as marula nuts, whose oil can be used in cosmetics, and devil’s claw, which has medicinal value, into the international market.The predominantly San members of the Nyae-Nyae Conservancy – the first conservancy to be registered in 1998 – earn an income from the sustainable harvest of devil’s claw.At the end of last year, Namibia’s 50 registered communal conservancies had generated over N$39 million and conservancies were covering 14 per cent of Namibia’s land surface.This is according to the 2007 State of the Conservancy Report that was launched in Windhoek in June.About 220 000 people from various ethnic groups live in conservancies, which had created close to 1 000 full-time jobs and 6 227 part-time jobs by the end of last year.The documentary is to be shown on NBC television this Sunday at 17h30.The documentary was produced by Quiet Storm Film Productions and is narrated by Natasha Lemoela.