As 2025 came to an end, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Namibia marked the year not just by reflecting on conservation gains, but by reinforcing the teamwork and shared values that underpin its work across the country.
The organisation’s annual end-of-year retreat brought staff together to reflect, reconnect and chart the way forward, underscoring the belief that strong internal cohesion is essential for delivering lasting conservation outcomes. The retreat opened with a two-day workshop at Rooster and Co in Windhoek, where teams reviewed key milestones achieved during 2025 and assessed the impact across WWF Namibia’s programmes.
Departments shared successes and challenges, aligned priorities for 2026 and evaluated their contributions to the organisation’s five-year strategic plan. According to WWF Namibia, the workshop encouraged open dialogue and renewed focus, while insights from a staff survey helped shape a collaborative plan to strengthen internal working relationships. In a symbolic moment of unity, staff reaffirmed their commitment to WWF Namibia’s core values and collective pursuit of excellence.
“By strengthening our culture and celebrating our wins, we ensure that our conservation efforts remain bold and effective for Namibia’s people and wildlife. With renewed energy, we step into 2026 ready to champion conservation with creativity, courage, and collaboration,” WWF Namibia said.
Beyond internal reflection, 2025 also saw WWF Namibia contributing to global conservation dialogue. One of the year’s highlights was participation in the Workshop on Conservation Innovation, Livelihoods, and Environmental and Social Safeguards, hosted in Berlin. The event brought together 40 experts from 15 countries across Africa, Asia and South America, and emphasised that biodiversity protection must be closely linked to community livelihoods and underpinned by strong safeguards.
WWF Namibia said its involvement through the Skeleton Coast–Etosha Conservation Bridge (SCECB) Landscape strengthened its experience in environmental and social safeguards, while enabling valuable learning from international peers. A key contribution was co-leading a session on strengthening the role of women in conservation and decision-making, where Namibia’s Women for Conservation initiative was presented as a best-practice model for gender-inclusive leadership.
Key lessons from the workshop highlighted the need to embed safeguards officers directly within conservation programmes. WWF Namibia noted that appointing at least one safeguards officer per landscape would improve accountability and support long-term sustainability, particularly in managing human-wildlife conflict and building climate resilience.
Proposed exchange visits between Namibia and Madagascar were also identified as a way to strengthen knowledge-sharing on grievance mechanisms and safeguards. Such collaboration, WWF Namibia said, would further build community trust and ensure that biodiversity conservation remains inseparable from the rights and livelihoods of the people who depend on healthy ecosystems.
The organisation’s annual end-of-year retreat brought staff together to reflect, reconnect and chart the way forward, underscoring the belief that strong internal cohesion is essential for delivering lasting conservation outcomes. The retreat opened with a two-day workshop at Rooster and Co in Windhoek, where teams reviewed key milestones achieved during 2025 and assessed the impact across WWF Namibia’s programmes.
Departments shared successes and challenges, aligned priorities for 2026 and evaluated their contributions to the organisation’s five-year strategic plan. According to WWF Namibia, the workshop encouraged open dialogue and renewed focus, while insights from a staff survey helped shape a collaborative plan to strengthen internal working relationships. In a symbolic moment of unity, staff reaffirmed their commitment to WWF Namibia’s core values and collective pursuit of excellence.
“By strengthening our culture and celebrating our wins, we ensure that our conservation efforts remain bold and effective for Namibia’s people and wildlife. With renewed energy, we step into 2026 ready to champion conservation with creativity, courage, and collaboration,” WWF Namibia said.
Beyond internal reflection, 2025 also saw WWF Namibia contributing to global conservation dialogue. One of the year’s highlights was participation in the Workshop on Conservation Innovation, Livelihoods, and Environmental and Social Safeguards, hosted in Berlin. The event brought together 40 experts from 15 countries across Africa, Asia and South America, and emphasised that biodiversity protection must be closely linked to community livelihoods and underpinned by strong safeguards.
WWF Namibia said its involvement through the Skeleton Coast–Etosha Conservation Bridge (SCECB) Landscape strengthened its experience in environmental and social safeguards, while enabling valuable learning from international peers. A key contribution was co-leading a session on strengthening the role of women in conservation and decision-making, where Namibia’s Women for Conservation initiative was presented as a best-practice model for gender-inclusive leadership.
Key lessons from the workshop highlighted the need to embed safeguards officers directly within conservation programmes. WWF Namibia noted that appointing at least one safeguards officer per landscape would improve accountability and support long-term sustainability, particularly in managing human-wildlife conflict and building climate resilience.
Proposed exchange visits between Namibia and Madagascar were also identified as a way to strengthen knowledge-sharing on grievance mechanisms and safeguards. Such collaboration, WWF Namibia said, would further build community trust and ensure that biodiversity conservation remains inseparable from the rights and livelihoods of the people who depend on healthy ecosystems.
