Supporting community conservation in the Kunene region is the objective of the latest round of funding from the German Government through the KfW Development Bank to limit the damage done when human settlements and wildlife populations collide.
On 27 October, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, its partners and other stakeholders hosted a handover of grants, infrastructure, and equipment, financed for N$31 million by the KfW Development Bank, for some of the affected communities.
People living in the Kunene Region are often affected by human wildlife conflict involving species such as lions, elephants, hyenas, leopards, hippos and crocodiles. These incidences include loss of livestock, crops, infrastructure and in some cases human life.
The funding is earmarked to improve infrastructure for the safety of livestock, to furnish more waterpoints to reduce contact between people and wildlife, to support the Lion Ranger programme, and to assist field scientists with the collaring of targetted predators.
The handover was attended by the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Hon Pohamba Shifeta, the Kunene Governor, Hon Marius Sheya, the Chairman of the Kunene Regional Council, Hendrick Gaobeb, the German Ambassador, HE Dr Thorsten Hutter, representative of KfW, and the Community Conservation Fund of Namibia.
The German Ambassador, HE Dr Thorsten Hutter (standing third from left), the Country Director of the Kreditanstallt fuer Wiederaufbau (KfW), Mrs Beatrice Lucke (standing second from right) with conservation officials and the Kunene Region’s Lion Rangers in front. (Photograph courtesy of the KfW)
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