On 28 and 29 February 2024, GIZ, KfW and CCFN hosted a group of about 8 members of the Committee on the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection from the German Bundestag (German Parliament). The delegation was led by the Committee Chairman Mr Herald Ebner and, accompanied by the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Namibia, His Excellency Dr Thorsten Hutter.
The delegation was visiting Namibia to familiarise themselves with the nature of activities supported through KfW and GIZ towards community conservation and development as well as Human-Wildlife Conflict Management activities, particularly Human Elephant Conflict. The team also visited the Elephant Human Relations Aid (EHRA) to get an understanding of elephant-human conflict issues and how these are jointly mitigated with the community. The local tourist guides at EHRA displayed (via role play) how to deal with wild Elephants, and also how to deal with difficult tourists during their guided tours. EHRA has helped build peaceful relationships between free-roaming desert elephants and local communities in Namibia since 2003. EHRA’s mission is to implement practical solutions that help combat elephant-human conflict, thereby securing a future for Namibia’s desert elephants.
The team was accompanied by the KfW Team (led by Country Director, Ms. Beatrice Lucke), GIZ (led by country Director Mr.Tobias Gerster), and CCFN (led by the CEO, Mr Tapiwa Makiwa).
The Committee on the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection from the German Bundestag (German Parliament) accompanied by the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Namibia, His Excellency Dr Thorsten Hutter also visited the Ozohere campsite, the first joint-venture tourism establishments for Ohungu conservancy, and the Brandberg White Lady Lodge, a joint venture lodge with Tsiseb conservancy.
Ozohere Campsite is situated in a wondrous desert area, on the outskirts of the Ohungu Conservancy. Despite its geographical location amidst the arid stones of the Erongo Region, the campsite comprises of seven camping spots, with all features, including braai facilities, solar-powered ablution facilities and running water. The campsite was supported with basic repairs and upgrades through GIZ and CCFN in preparation for the return of tourism after the COVID pandemic These included upgrades to solar power infrastructure, ablution, reception, office, and kitchen facilities that have aided its sustainability and self-sufficiency. In addition to a pre-set minimal monthly land rental fee to the conservancy, the campsite provides livelihood support to 17 Himba women, 10 children, and 5 permanent employees from the local community.
The Brandberg White Lady Lodge received COVID-19 relief support to cover salaries of over 50 employees during the pandemic through the Conservancy Relief, Recovery and Resilience. This funding ensured that no staff were laid off, even during a time of uncertainty and no tourism arrivals.
There was unanimous positive feedback from the delegation, most of whom expressed a better understanding of CBNRM and a great appreciation for the work being carried out, and support provided to communities to improve livelihoods and bio-diversity in a balanced manner through the German-Namibia cooperation. Project beneficiaries equally expressed gratitude for the support provided through the GIZ funded Bio-Economy and KFW funded CCFN-Poverty Oriented Support to Community Conservation in Namibia (POSCCIN) and NAMPARKS projects.
Brandberg White Lady Lodge Manager (Ms. Sarah Roos) expressed gratitude to MEFT, KfW, CCFN and all partners involved in the COVID-19 relief facility for ensuring the survival of the establishment and sustenance of jobs.