Namibia has reaffirmed its firm position in defence of trophy hunting, warning that increasing pressure from international ideological anti-hunting groups threatens the country’s successful communal conservancy programme and broader conservation efforts.
Responding to questions raised in parliament about trophy hunting, the tourism and environment minister, Indileni Daniel, said Namibia’s conservation model is built on the principle of sustainable utilisation and will not be dictated by external pressures that undermine this approach.
Daniel said the growing calls from anti-hunting lobby groups to ban trophy hunting pose a serious risk to the country’s conservation achievements, particularly within communal conservancies where wildlife management and rural livelihoods are closely linked.
“Namibia will continue to oppose these pressures,” she said, adding that the country remains committed to ensuring its wildlife management practices remain credible and defensible.
To strengthen transparency and scientific credibility, the quota-setting process for conservancies and national parks was critically reviewed and revised in 2018 in consultation with stakeholders.
Under the revised system, stronger emphasis is placed on scientifically determined, data-based quotas.
Oversight is provided by the Quota Setting Coordinating Committee, which includes technical staff from the ministry as well as representatives from non-governmental organisations involved in conservation.
The quota-setting process is then extended to communal conservancies and national parks, allowing them to provide input and reach an agreement before final quotas are recommended to the minister for approval.
Daniel stressed that Namibia will continue to resist external pressure while maintaining full responsibility for establishing defensible and sustainable offtake quotas.
She said these quotas must be grounded in reliable quantitative data and developed through thorough consultation with communal conservancies, specialists and other relevant stakeholders.
According to the minister, maintaining this science-based and consultative approach is essential to ensuring that Namibia’s conservation model remains both sustainable and internationally defensible while protecting the interests of communities who rely on wildlife as a key resource.
