 Conservation Hunting creates clear incentives to adopt wildlife management as an ecotourism land use. |
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Conservation Hunting
Conservation hunting promotes the protection of free-roaming, indigenous wildlife and its natural habitat.
Credit: Helge Denker - Conservation Namibia (conservationnamibia.com)
Conservation Hunting has the following verifiable prerequisites and outcomes:
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It is governed by a national legal framework with clear systems of controls and reporting requirements.
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It meets all CITES and IUCN species conservation criteria.
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It targets only free-roaming, indigenous species in natural habitats large enough to ensure healthy population dynamics.
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Wildlife population trends in the greater landscape are closely monitored and off-takes are adapted as needed to ensure the population health of all targeted species.
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Off-takes are sustainable, based on species-specific, scientifically-accepted annual quotas for the hunted population.
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It promotes the natural diversity of all indigenous fauna and flora in the hunting area.
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It safeguards wildlife habitat (the hunting area) against destructive land uses.
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A major portion of generated income goes back to the land holders and is spent on the conservation and human development needs of the hunting area.
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It employs local people to carry out conservation activities in the hunting area, including wildlife monitoring and anti-poaching activities.
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It mitigates human-wildlife conflict amongst local communities if these occur in, or adjacent to, the hunting area.
Through these criteria, conservation hunting creates clear incentives to adopt wildlife management as a land use.
