Namibia recorded its lowest level of rhino poaching in more than a decade last year, but environment and tourism minister Indileni Daniel warned that criminals targeting the country’s wildlife and natural resources are adapting faster than the systems designed to stop them.
Speaking at the Third National Stakeholder Forum for Wildlife and Environmental Protection, Daniel said 43 rhinos were poached in 2025, down from 91 in 2024. However, 24 rhinos have already been poached in 2026, demonstrating that the threat remains active.
Daniel said the decline showed that Namibia’s strategies were producing results, but cautioned that the country was “not yet out of the woods”.
“Criminals threatening our wildlife and natural resources have also learned to adapt and sometimes they adapt faster than our systems do,” she said.
The minister said the forum should send a clear message to poachers, traffickers and illegal traders that Namibia’s institutions, communities and partners were united and determined to protect the country’s natural resources for future generations.
Wildlife and environmental crime, she said, posed a profound threat to the integrity of Namibia’s natural resources, the national economy and the livelihoods of communities.
Following the inaugural forum in 2022, Namibia expanded its focus beyond wildlife crime to include flora and forestry crimes, reflecting the changing nature of environmental crime and the growth of illicit markets.
Daniel said environmental crime came at a high economic cost, affecting tourism, conservation hunting, local communities and the broader economy.
She also highlighted the considerable financial resources being spent by government, the private sector and international funding agencies to combat environmental crime.
“These are much-needed resources that could, and should, be channelled into other vital national development priorities,” she said.
According to Daniel, Namibia must also look beyond its borders to address international criminal syndicates involved in poaching and trafficking.
She called for stronger cross-border cooperation and increased engagement with international partners to reduce the global demand that drives the illegal trade in wildlife and natural resources.
“To address poaching and trafficking, we need to cut the demand by making sure we cut the line to the underworld market,” she said.
Daniel also placed corruption at the centre of the fight against environmental crime, saying wildlife and environmental crimes could not be successfully addressed without tackling those who enable criminal activities from within institutions.
She called for stronger internal controls and an end to what she described as the “corruption triangle” of opportunity, justification and action.
The issue is particularly urgent, she said, given a recent surge in illegal plant trafficking, which has rapidly developed into a lucrative criminal enterprise.
Daniel said Namibia had responded by strengthening legislation and increasing maximum penalties to serve as genuine deterrents. She also pointed to the role of law enforcement agencies, national security forces, the judiciary, communal conservancies and rhino custodians.
Specialised structures, including the Wildlife Protection Services Division and the Environmental Crime Unit of the Office of the Prime Minister, have also been established to strengthen the response.
Daniel further welcomed progress by the justice ministry in finalising the long-awaited Wildlife and Protected Areas Management Bill, which she said would further support wildlife conservation and protection once enacted.
She said the fight to protect Namibia’s natural resources was not only an economic and ecological responsibility, but also a constitutional and moral obligation.
Daniel said the National Strategy on Wildlife and Environmental Protection 2026 to 2035, which was launched at the event, would further guide the country’s response.
She urged stakeholders at the forum to turn discussions into concrete action and use collaboration to curb the decline in wildlife and environmental crime.
“We must firmly protect our natural resources as a legal, ecological and development imperative.”
