Wildlife Credits Namibia

Wildllife credits Namibia

Intro to be added

Namibia is home to some of the world’s richest wildlife and poorest communities. At the sametime, there is an immense wildlife economy in which a wide range of businesses and other stakeholders financially benefit from this same wildlife. WildlifeCredits Namibia is an initiative of WWF (World Wide Fund) Namibia, that aims to further unlock the value of wildlife for the benefit of local communities,based on positive conservation outcomes. By helping people benefit from their natural resources, both can thrive.

Local communities bear the costs of living with wildlife, and conventional income streams such as tourism and trophy hunting alone are not sufficient to enable Community Based Natural Resource Management(CBNRM) to succeed. Thus a new, additional income stream is being developed,called Wildlife Credits. Through this concept, WWF Namibia and partner organisations and supported by WWF Netherlands, aim to decrease the dependency on NGOs for wildlife protection. This concept is a type of PES (payment for ecosystem services) and compensates communities who are the custodians of wildlife, for verifiable conservation results.

Wildlife Credits Namibia encourages businesses within the wildlife economy to pay for the privilege of profiting from wildlife,including those within the tourism value chain. Tourism in Namibia heavily relies on iconic wildlife species and the conservation thereof, as they are one of the main attractions for visitors to Namibia. However, it needs purpose-driven tourism that can indeed significantly and effectively contribute to the sustainable protection of wildlife. Therefore, TOSCO has partnered with WWF Namibia to help develop the Wildlife Credits concept and identify financing mechanisms within the tourism value chain linked to Namibia, togenerate funds for Wildlife Credits schemes.

Deane Spall

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Agnes Dury

My immense love for the natural world made me want to devote my life to conservation from an early age. My MSc in Tourism, Society, and Environment in the Netherlands grew my passion for the role sustainable tourism can take in conservation. As an avid traveler, I understand why exploring the unknown can be so enriching for many of us and I hope future generations can still enjoy traveling. I am originally from the Netherlands, and arrived in Namibia in 2016. It appeared the ultimate country to learn what successful conservation is about.

I could not have found a better organisation than TOSCO to involve tourism in the conservation equation. I joined TOSCO in 2019, initially coordinating the Desert Lion Program, and then became manager in 2020. Apart from that, I am involved in the Wildlife Credits program on behalf of TOSCO, partnering with WWF Namibia and CCFN. Through TOSCO and working with rural communities and other conservation partners, I really got to understand what successful conservation is about. I am very excited to grow TOSCO further with the team, broadening the connection between tourism and conservation by getting more of the tourism industry to join our movement, and deepening this connection by making conservation an integral part of tourism and the travel experience. I believe TOSCO with its team and programs can make a real difference!

Lara Potma

I am very excited to grow TOSCO further with the team, broadening the connection between tourism and conservation by getting more of the tourism industry to join our movement, and deepening this connection by making conservation an integral part of tourism and the travel experience. I believe TOSCO with its team and programs can make a real difference!