LÜDERITZ - The chairperson of //Kharas Regional Council and !Nami#nus Constituency Council Jan Scholtz heaped praise on the Ministry of Environment and Tourism for over the years developing guidelines and action plans to ensure it preserves and cares for the country’s wild horses that generate revenue through tourism.

Efforts by the ministry will ensure these magnificent beasts are safeguarded for posterity and generations to come.
Scholtz officiated at the stakeholder consultation workshop on the development of  a wild horses management plan held at a hotel in Lüderitz on Tuesday.

He said the stakeholder consultative workshop was conducted to share constructive input which will enable the ministry to develop a management plan, specifically for these unique wild horses, putting emphasis on the fact that they are aware the wild horses in Namib Naukluft Park and Tsau //Kaeb (Sperrgebiet) National Park date back to World War One.
These horses inhabitat the Garub Area of the Namib Naukluft Park and Tsau//Khaeb National Park and it is vital for the environment and tourism ministry to conserve them.

Scholtz said this can be done when all the stakeholders come together to engage and put their knowledge and ideas together on how best to manage the wild horses.
“I would like to point out that discussions that will be done in this workshop should be taken very seriously because the envisaged management plan that the ministry is developing will serve as a guide for future interventions on the wild horses,” stressed Scholtz.

It was noted that despite the presence of these horses in the park that are not supported under the current Nature Conservation Ordinance (Ordinance 04 of 1975), the environment and tourism ministry has adopted them as part of the park’s wildlife. 

In most recent years, their population has suffered from drought and predation from spotted hyenas that target their foals and weak wild horses.  This has resulted in their numbers to significantly drop and putting the species’ survival in doubt. 
This has triggered a debate on the management of the wild horses. To ensure the objective management of the population, the ministry is in the process of developing the Wild Horses Management Strategy. The workshop is part of a consultative process with interested and affected parties that will feed into the development of the management strategy.