Auleria Wakudumo
Namibia has launched a landmark Project Finance for Permanence (PFP) initiative known as Namibia for Life, securing approximately N$1.1 billion (US$63 million) in long-term conservation funding to strengthen community-based natural resource management and safeguard the country’s biodiversity.
The initiative positions Namibia as the first country in Africa to implement a community conservation-focused PFP model, designed to provide permanent financing and institutional support for conservation and rural development.
It is an endowment-based funding structure and a dedicated socio-economic development fund. It will channel resources into community enterprises, job creation, skills development and small-scale infrastructure in conservancies and community forests.
A total of 87 communal conservancies and 48 community forests will be supported, with plans to expand coverage to up to 100 conservancies, benefiting more than 283 000 rural residents who depend on natural resources for their livelihoods.
The programme is also expected to secure long-term conservation of over 20 million hectares of land, covering more than 20% of Namibia’s territory.
At the launch recently, Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare described the initiative as a major milestone in Namibia’s Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) programme, developed over three decades and internationally recognised for linking conservation with rural development.
He said the programme reflects strong collaboration between government, communities, civil society, and development partners. He added that it remains one of Namibia’s most successful development models.
“The initiative is a strategic investment in balancing environmental protection, development, and community empowerment under NDP6,” he said.
He added that it will ensure conservation delivers direct benefits to rural communities while improving coordination and resource mobilisation across the sector.
Ngurare acknowledged the contribution of President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah in advancing the programme during her tenure as minister of environment and tourism.
He also highlighted challenges such as governance gaps, human-wildlife conflict, and pressure on conservation models. He said these must be addressed through stronger systems and practical solutions.
In addition, environment minister Indileni Daniel noted that the initiative is rooted in Namibia’s constitutional commitment to environmental protection and human welfare and represents a historic shift in conservation financing.
“It is community-driven, ensuring conservancies and community forests are central beneficiaries of the long-term investment model,” she emphasised.
Namibia’s CBNRM programme, which emerged in the 1980s as a response to poaching in communal areas, has become one of Africa’s most successful community conservation models. It devolves wildlife and natural resource rights to rural communities, enabling them to benefit directly from tourism, hunting concessions, and sustainable resource use.
Today, the programme covers vast communal landscapes and has contributed to significant wildlife recovery, including increases in elephant, black rhino, and desert-adapted lion populations.
Government data indicates that communal conservancies now cover approximately 186 000 square kilometres, supporting over 244 000 people, while generating more than N$109 million in economic value in 2025 alone.