Namibia’s latest hunting quota cycle has drawn significant interest, with 144 bids submitted across communal conservancies.
The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has finalised hunting quotas for the 2026–2028 cycle, saying the process was based on scientific assessment, stakeholder consultation and a strengthened regulatory framework aimed at improving sustainability and transparency in communal conservancies.
Richard Fryer, from the ministry’s Division of Wildlife Support Services, which oversees conservation, hunting and human-wildlife conflict, said the quotas were approved following a multi-layered technical and consultative process involving conservancies, support organisations and scientific experts.
He said quotas are set on a three-year cycle and are based on a range of data sources, including game counts, fixed-route patrols and other field monitoring systems. Namibia, he added, applies a “scientifically justified and adaptive management approach” to ensure wildlife utilisation remains sustainable and defensible at an international level.
A quota-setting coordinating committee comprising officials from the ministry’s Directorate of Wildlife and National Parks, Scientific Services, and the Namibia Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO) leads the process.
Specialist task teams are assigned to key species groups, including elephants, wetland species and predators, to recommend sustainable offtake levels based on available population data.
Fryer said Namibia’s approach is designed to maintain credibility in global conservation and trade discussions, particularly as the country must demonstrate scientific justification for trophy hunting quotas to avoid potential import restrictions and trade boycotts.
Of Namibia’s 87 registered conservancies, 73 were allocated hunting quotas for the 2026–2028 cycle. These include trophy-only quotas, combined trophy and own-use quotas, and own-use allocations. However, implementation of new hunting agreements has been uneven due to administrative and legal challenges.
All previous hunting agreements expired at the end of 2025, triggering a renewal and tender process. Of the affected conservancies, 33 opted to go to tender, while 29 chose to renew with existing operators, bringing the total to 62 conservancies initially engaged in the process.
By the end of April, 50 conservancies had successfully concluded and commenced new hunting agreements for the 2026–2028 period. The remaining 12 faced a range of challenges, including pending court cases, lack of tender submissions, withdrawal of operators, procedural irregularities and failed price negotiations. In one case, the same operator was involved in both a failed contract signing and unsuccessful price negotiations.
Despite these setbacks, the tender process attracted significant commercial interest in community-based hunting concessions. The 33 conservancies that went to tender received a total of 144 bids, with some attracting particularly high competition, including Balarwa Conservancy, which received 23 bids, and Bamunu Conservancy, which received 16.
All tenders were opened in January 2026, following an advertisement in December 2025, after ministerial approval of the quotas.
