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11. Communities and elephants in the northern highlands, Kunene Region, Namibia

Chapter of: Etosha Pan to the Skeleton Coast: Conservation Histories, Policies and Practices in North-west Namibia(pp. 289–304)

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Title11. Communities and elephants in the northern highlands, Kunene Region, Namibia
ContributorMichael Wenborn(author)
Roger Collinson (author)
Siegfried Muzuma (author)
Dave Kangombe (author)
Vincent Nijman(author)
Magdalena S. Svensson(author)
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0402.11
Landing pagehttps://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0402/chapters/10.11647/obp.0402.11
Licensehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
CopyrightMichael Wenborn; Roger Collinson; Siegfried Muzuma; Dave Kangombe; Vincent Nijman; Magdalena Svensson
PublisherOpen Book Publishers
Published on2024-08-02
Long abstractWe consider a unique population of elephant (Loxodonta africana) dwelling in an area known as the northern highlands to the west of Etosha National Park. These highlands are a remote, arid, mountainous landscape where elephants co-exist with rural communities. There is minimal published research on this population of elephants. As part of our scoping for a research project on this population of elephants, we consulted with game guards from 10 conservancies in 2021 and 2022 on their knowledge of elephant populations, and carried out analysis of Event Book data on human-elephant conflict (HEC) incidents reported in Orupupa and Ehi-Rovipuka conservancies. The community conservancy model has had much success in shaping local attitudes in Kunene Region and increasing the perceived value of wildlife. These successes are being eroded, however, by competition between local people and wildlife over resources––particularly in the context of drought years in north-west Namibia between 2013 and 2020. We conclude that there is a strong case for expanding the roles of community game guards to strengthen the protection of the elephants in the northern highlands. One suggestion is for community game guards to be offered additional training as “elephant rangers” who can guide tourists in the area, the assumption being that this would increase revenue to community conservancies and help to enhance local perceptions of the value of wildlife.
Page rangepp. 289–304
Print length16 pages
LanguageEnglish (Original)
Contributors

Michael Wenborn

(author)
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0493-1649

Michael Wenborn has worked and travelled in Namibia for 10 years. He is pursuing a PhD with the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, UK, focusing on the elephant populations in the northern highlands of north-west Namibia, working closely with the community conservancies and the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism.

Roger Collinson

(author)

Roger Collinson is a South African national living in Namibia, with over 40 years’ experience in wildlife conservation, in particular projects on community-based wildlife conservation. He has 10 years’ experience advising conservancies in north-west Namibia. He currently acts as a specialist advisor to Namibian NGOs in wildlife conservation.

Siegfried Muzuma

(author)

Siegfried Muzuma has been Chairperson for Ehi-Rovipuka Conservancy, Kunene Region, Namibia, for over 5 years.

Dave Kangombe

(author)

Dave Kangombe has been Chairperson for Orupupa Conservancy since 2021 and works for the Namibian NGO Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation (IRDNC) in support of remote community conservancies in north-west Namibia.

Vincent Nijman

(author)
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5600-4276

Vincent Nijman holds a professorial chair in Anthropology in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Oxford Brookes University, UK, and has worked as an independent biodiversity consultant for numerous national and international NGOs. Part of his research programme focuses on stakeholder and community engagement in conservation, addressing human-wildlife conflict, and regulating wildlife trade.

Magdalena S. Svensson

(author)
Lecturer in Primatology and Conservation at Oxford Brookes University
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6149-0192

Magdalena S. Svensson is a Lecturer in Primatology and Conservation at Oxford Brookes University, UK. She has extensive experience working on community-based conservation research projects in Africa, including in Angola, as well as in research projects on the ivory trade.

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