Trophy hunting has generated substantially more income for Namibia’s communal conservancies than joint-venture tourism, underscoring its continued importance to rural livelihoods and conservation financing.
From 2013 to 2024, communal conservancies earned more than N$292 million from hunting, compared to N$166 million generated through joint venture tourism.
This is according to tourism minister Indileni Daniel, who responded to questions about trophy hunting in Parliament.
She said that trophy hunting also provides much-needed protein to rural communities and farmers in the form of meat. Both tourism and hunting create employment opportunities and contribute to social development and community training.
Daniel also highlighted the indirect revenue benefits generated by the sector, noting that hunting supports other businesses such as taxidermists, lodges, fuel stations, curio shops and restaurants.
She said that conservation hunting forms an important part of Namibia’s integrated sustainable development and conservation strategy.
According to her, the most economically valuable and least extractive form of hunting is selective, high-value hunting, whereby an international client pays a premium to hunt older individual animals.
Daniel added that the ministry closely regulates the practice through registering trained local professional hunters who accompany each client and issuing permits based on quotas set using reliable information and scientific studies.
The hunting clients may then export a part of the hunted animal, known as the “trophy”, as a memento of the hunting experience. Most of the animal enters the local food chain.
According to Daniel, this form of hunting removes just under 1% of the national wildlife population each year, compared to typical wildlife population growth of about 25 to 35% per year.
For slower breeding species such as elephants, which breed at about 3% to 5% per year, the offtake is far lower, at around 0.2%.
High-value hunting by clients from Europe, the United States of America and elsewhere therefore remains an important contributor to the sustainable wildlife economy in Namibia and to the country’s growing rewilding conservation programme.
Daniel added that trophy hunting contributes to conservation efforts by providing financial incentives for wildlife protection, particularly in areas where alternative forms of land use, such as agriculture or tourism, are less viable.
Revenue generated through hunting fees is often directed towards anti-poaching patrols, habitat management and community development programmes.
Daniel said the sector also helps sustain a wildlife-based economy, discouraging the conversion of land to other uses that could be detrimental to biodiversity and long-term conservation goals in Namibia.
