Africa-Press – Namibia. President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah reaffirmed that protecting Namibia’s environment is critical to sustaining rural livelihoods, as the Community Conservancy Fund of Namibia (CCFN) revealed major new financing alongside ongoing challenges.
Speaking during a meeting with the CCFN delegation, led by CCFN board chairperslast Andrew Corbett at State House on Friday, the President stressed that protecting nature is not optional but necessary for survival.
The President added that environmental protection is directly linked to the country’s survival, warning that failure to safeguard natural resources would have serious consequences.
“Conservation is what is sustaining all of us. If we are not protecting our environment, our environment will not protect us,” she said.
The meeting, led by Corbett, served as a briefing session to update the head of State on the fund’s activities and seek guidance on its future direction.
Nandi-Ndaitwah, who is the patron of the fund and a former environment minister, used the platform to highlight the importance of biodiversity, saying a true environment cannot exist without both plant and animal life.
“When we talk about an environment without biodiversity, both the fauna and the flora, then that’s not an environment,” she said.
The President also reflected on her long-standing engagement with the conservancy movement, noting that she remains deeply committed to its success.
“I’m always happy when I am having a meeting with the CCFN. I know the work of the conservancies, and I remain passionate about it,” she said. Meanwhile, Corbett reaffirmed the organisation’s respect for the President’s leadership and her continued support for conservation efforts.
“We hold Your Excellency in high regard in your commitment to community-based natural resource management, as well as rural diversification and rural livelihoods,” he said.
He added that the President’s experience as a former environment minister has been invaluable in guiding the organisation.
Wildlife
The fund, Corbett added, with the backing of its patron, has increasingly focused on ensuring that conservation directly benefits people on the ground.
“What the CCFN has done, with the encouragement of Her Excellency, is concentrate on making real changes in rural communities by linking conservation of wildlife to livelihoods,” he said. Conservancies’ community-run structures are being supported to turn wildlife into a source of income, particularly in remote northern regions.
This includes funding practical interventions to address one of the biggest challenges faced by rural communities: human-wildlife conflict.
“We hear a lot about conflict between animals and people, and we’ve helped fund lion rangers and elephant rangers to keep those animals apart from villagers,” Corbett said.
In areas such as the Zambezi region, where such conflicts are common, the fund has supported the construction of predator-proof kraals to protect livestock. “I’ve been there and seen hundreds of these kraals.
They are solid enclosures where communities can keep their livestock at night, so that lions and other predators stay away,” he said.
The fund has also invested in infrastructure such as boreholes, including measures to protect them from elephants, ensuring communities can sustain both farming and daily living.
Money
While highlighting progress, Corbett revealed that the fund has recently secured significant international support.
“We’ve managed to raise about US$63 million (just over N$1 billion), which will go into supporting community conservation,” he said.
He attributed part of this success to the visibility and credibility brought by Nandi-Ndaitwah’s role as patron. “It gives us the kind of exposure we need to raise funds internationally,” he said, adding that the President has agreed to continue serving in the role. However, despite the major funding injection, Corbett acknowledged that challenges remain, particularly within Namibia itself.
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