Paper short abstract:

This paper will explore the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on two Namibian Conservancies: Anabeb and Sesfontein. We will analyze how the fall in tourism revenues affected the economy of local populations, wildlife, and land use, and how the situation has evolved in the post-pandemic environment.

Paper long abstract:

Namibia’s programme of Communal Conservancies has been depicted as one of the most successful in Africa when it comes to combine wildlife conservation outside of and around Protected Areas with socioeconomic benefits to rural residents. In Conservancies, communities have established tourism ventures, either by themselves or in partnership with private operators. In the last decades, ecotourism and trophy hunting have been providing most of the Conservancies’ income as well as employment for locals. One of the main effects of COVID-19 and its containment measures, however, was an almost total collapse of international tourist visits to Namibia, leading to a sharp fall in income to Conservancies and communities. As part of an international research project on the impact of COVID on drylands, this paper will trace the evolution of two Conservancies, Anabeb and Sesfontein, and will explore how the crisis in the tourism sector has impacted the rural populations in Communal Conservancy areas. Special focus will be placed on three issues: the impact of declining revenues and employment on the population, the effects on wildlife (poaching and Human-Wildlife Conflict), and, finally, the possible changes in land use in Conservancies. Although attention will be devoted to the crisis years of 2020 and 2021, the situation in the post-pandemic environment will also be discussed.