A new N$610 000 investment by Save the Rhino Trust (SRT) and ultimate.earth will strengthen anti-poaching patrols and conservation efforts in one of Namibia’s key strongholds for desert-adapted black rhino.
SRT and Namibian tourism company ultimate.earth, (formerly Ultimate Safaris), have joined forces to increase protection of the Red Mountain Joint Management Area (JMA), following the poaching of a pregnant female rhino and her calf last year.
The two organisations, whose conservation partnership spans more than two decades, have jointly invested about N$610 000 in a dedicated patrol vehicle for the vast and rugged conservation area. SRT contributed N$280 000 from the sale of old vehicles, while ultimate.earth, through its Conservation Travel Foundation (CTF), provided approximately N$330 000 towards the purchase of the vehicle.
The organisations will jointly cover its ongoing running costs, while SRT will provide the driver. The vehicle will give conservation teams greater capacity to conduct patrols, monitor rhino movements and strengthen anti-poaching efforts across the JMA.
The Red Mountain JMA is jointly managed by the Sorris Sorris, Uibasen Twyfelfontein and Doro !Nawas conservancies and is home to one of Namibia’s most southerly populations of free-roaming, desert-adapted black rhino.
The patrol vehicle will complement existing conservation measures by the three conservancies, including access-control points that they own and manage.
SRT chief executive Simson Uri-Khob said the long-standing partnership with ultimate.earth reflects a shared understanding that conservation requires sustained commitment.
“Our partnership has now been going for more than 20 years. What we value is that they understand conservation as a responsibility, not simply as something that happens somewhere else,” Uri-Khob said.
He said every rhino was important, but the loss of a pregnant cow and her calf was particularly devastating.
“We need to respond by increasing our presence on the ground and strengthening the capacity of the conservancies and their partners to protect this population,” he said.
For ultimate.earth managing director Tristan Cowley, the investment reflects the tourism sector’s dependence on healthy landscapes, wildlife and communities. “As a Namibian tourism company, we believe our responsibility goes beyond taking guests into these incredible landscapes. We benefit from conservation, so we have a responsibility to invest back into it,” Cowley said.
He said Namibia’s communal conservation model had created opportunities for communities while helping to protect wildlife. “Communities have protected wildlife, wildlife has made tourism possible, and tourism has created jobs, businesses and opportunities where there were previously very few,” he said.
Cowley stressed that the vehicle was only one part of a broader operational commitment. “The vehicle is important, but the commitment behind it is even more important. SRT provides the driver, we share the running costs, and together we are putting more boots and wheels on the ground,” he said.
He also highlighted the role of the three conservancies as custodians of the landscape. Their access-control points, personnel and conservation efforts form an important part of the protection network across the JMA.
