Staff Reporter A TOTAL of 575 animals were translocated from Etosha National Park to conservation areas in Namibia, including communal conservancies in the Kunene Region. …
Staff Reporter A TOTAL of 575 animals were translocated from Etosha National Park to conservation areas in Namibia, including communal conservancies in the Kunene Region. …
… She says she is originally from the Hai//om community at Etosha National Park in north-central Namibia, but had to move to Okahandja with her children. …
… The appeal comes as communities in the villages of Oromauua and Otjokavare, near Etosha National Park in the Sesfontein and Opuwo Rural constituencies, report an increase in lion attacks on livestock. …
Staff Reporter THE Ministry of Environment has relocated several wildlife species from Etosha National Park to other areas to restore animal populations in areas that were affected by prolonged drought. …
… The annual figures show 42 rhinos were poached in 2020, 44 in 2021, before rising sharply to 87 in 2022, the highest annual total during the period, with much of the poaching concentrated in Etosha National Park. …
Staff Reporter THE Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has concluded a controlled burning exercise in the Etosha National Park as part of measures to reduce the risk and impact of wildfires during the upcoming fire season. …
… ified under oath that he has invested more than N$150 million in Namibia since 2011, employs about 40 people and obtained permanent residence in 2017.Among his best-known investments is Kaross Farm, a roughly 66 000-acre wildlife property between Kamanjab and Etosha National Park …
… The Northern region delivered the highest occupancy nationally at 65.19%, up from 58.74% in May 2025, confirming that Etosha National Park and the broader Kunene corridor are attracting early-season visitors as the dry season approaches. …
The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism briefed on veld fires in northern Namibia, reporting that 3,269 hectares burned in Oshana during the last fire season. A second major fire burned 38,286 hectares across 16 areas, with the ministry identifying 17 priority fire cutlines for maintenance in 2026 to help prevent and mitigate wildfires.
The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism briefed on veld fires in northern Namibia, reporting that 3,269 hectares burned in Oshana during the last fire season. A second major fire burned 38,286 hectares across 16 areas, with the ministry identifying 17 priority fire cutlines for maintenance in 2026 to help prevent and mitigate wildfires.
Communities in Omusati region are improving land-use management through a UN-backed drylands sustainability project to address resource scarcity, environmental degradation, and rising agricultural demand. A meeting in Okahao brought together 27 people from three constituencies to develop local land-use plans and discuss restoring degraded land.
US Ambassador John Giordano, following a three-day field mission in Namibia, urged stronger law-enforcement focus on transnational criminal networks behind rhino poaching, arguing efforts must extend beyond arresting poachers to identifying traffickers, following money flows, and disrupting overseas markets.
The Hai||om San Royal House has petitioned the government to relocate its people to resettlement farms acquired in the Otavi, Otjiwarongo and Etosha Pan areas, citing loss of ancestral land near Otavi after 1904 and seeking recognition of their former chief's grave as a national heritage site.
Khomas governor Sam Shafishuna Nujoma has called for Windhoek to position itself as a cultural destination rather than a tourist transit point, to keep visitors longer and distribute tourism income to creatives, hospitality businesses and residents. He said culture should be treated as an economic opportunity alongside heritage preservation.
The government has argued that a lawsuit filed by the Hai//om Association seeking N$2.8 trillion in compensation for San people's expulsion from ancestral land in Etosha National Park is legally unsound. The Hai//om Association contends its members were dispossessed through past racially discriminatory policies and seeks either land restitution or financial compensation, but government respondents argue the association lacks legal standing to represent the San community.
The Chief Hosea Kutako Memorial Museum and Shrine at Toasis village, officially inaugurated on 10 December 2024, honours the Ovaherero leader who resisted colonial rule and petitioned the United Nations against Namibia's illegal occupation. The shrine has become a tourist attraction and commemorates the legendary national hero.
A Ministry of Environment and Tourism directive banning empty game-viewing vehicles from Etosha National Park has put over 100 workers employed by local tour operators at risk of job losses and caused losses of over N$1 million, with operators citing disrupted logistics for transporting tourists and cancelled international bookings.
An opinion piece argues that while kapana is an authentic part of Windhoek's food culture and provides livelihoods for informal vendors, Namibia's aspirational class has come to define leisure and national identity narrowly around meat, fire, and alcohol rather than imagining a broader cultural proposition.
Florencia Kaurianga established Little Rangers Academy, a kindergarten in Ehirovipuka Conservancy in Kunene region, in memory of her father Josef Kaurianga, who served as a wildlife ranger for 37 years. The academy currently serves 40 children aged 4–5 from surrounding communities and provides early childhood education in a remote area.
Vice President Lucia Witbooi opened a high-level stakeholder meeting in Outjo to deliberate on the future of the Hai-//om San community residing around Etosha National Park, expressing government's collective resolve to advance the welfare and socio-economic development of the marginalised community.
Small businesses across Namibia are increasingly visible on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp, but many lack a strategic approach to digital marketing. Simply posting content and gaining likes does not move potential customers toward purchase; effective digital marketing requires a planned approach that understands customers, communicates value, builds engagement, and converts interest into sales.
The Namibian reports that a delimitation commission is proposing to move Etosha National Park's administrative control from Kunene to Oshana region, a change that could harm surrounding communities and Kunene's economy, with the governor's silence on the issue questioned.
Vice President Lucia Witbooi held a high-level meeting with stakeholders in Outjo to discuss the living conditions and future of the Hai-//om San community residing in and around Etosha National Park. It was resolved that a comprehensive Livelihoods Options and Development Plan be developed to address socio-economic challenges confronting the community, with a multidisciplinary technical team to undertake field assessments across designated sites.
International visitors accounted for 72% of the 994,780 people who visited Namibia's national parks in 2025. Etosha, Namib-Naukluft, and Dorob attracted 85% of all visitation, with Etosha drawing 39% of the total.
Namibia's tourism prospects are improving, with rising hospitality occupancy rates and increased international airline routes to Windhoek, though the country has historically been overshadowed by South Africa's commercial dominance and Botswana's exclusive safari brand. The article suggests Namibia possesses distinctive natural attractions and faces both opportunity and the need for strategic decisions to capitalise on current momentum.
Vice President Lucia Witbooi visited the Hai//om San community at Ombika in Etosha National Park and resettlement farms in the Kunene region to gain first-hand insight into living conditions and socio-economic circumstances. Residents welcomed the engagement but expressed ongoing calls for electricity, housing, and sanitation improvements.
Tourism stakeholders note that many international visitors to Windhoek spend only one or two nights before heading to attractions like Sossusvlei, Etosha, Swakopmund or the Skeleton Coast, treating the capital mainly as a place to collect rental vehicles and gather supplies. The article suggests Windhoek has the ingredients for success—cleanliness, safety, ease of navigation, praised hospitality—but has struggled to become a destination in its own right, unlike gateway cities in other regional countries.
Vice President Lucia Witbooi has announced a government-led initiative to develop a comprehensive livelihood and development plan for the Hai-//om community living in and around Etosha National Park, following concerns over their living conditions. A multidisciplinary technical team has assessed conditions at several sites, and the government says the intervention aligns with its commitment to ensure no Namibian is left behind through inclusive development.
The government has declared the Ikaba fishing area in the Kabulabula conservancy a fisheries reserve to protect and sustainably manage inland fish resources in Namibia's Zambezi Region, following an initiative by the Zambezi Regional Council and the Bukalo Traditional Authority.
A total of 575 animals were moved from Etosha National Park to conservation areas across Namibia, including communal conservancies in the Kunene Region, as part of efforts to restore wildlife populations, improve ecological balance, and strengthen community-based conservation.
A total of 575 animals were translocated from Etosha National Park to conservation areas across Namibia, including communal conservancies in the Kunene Region, as part of efforts to restore wildlife populations, improve ecological balance, and strengthen community-based conservation. The translocation was led by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism through collaboration between government, communities, and conservation organisations.
Members of the San, Ovatue, and Ovatjimba communities have been removed from the Marginalised Communities Special Feeding Programme, which distributes quarterly food parcels including maize meal, beans, fish, beef and cooking oil. The Otjozondjupa Regional Council confirmed that vulnerable community members, including unemployed households with children, have lost access to this assistance introduced in 2005.
Communal farmers in Kunene region are calling for an urgent review of the government's human-wildlife conflict offset payment scheme, saying current payments do not reflect the true value of their animals. The Otjikaambuti Farmers Association reports that lions have killed about 40 cattle and over 100 goats and sheep since January this year in villages near Etosha National Park.
The Ministry of Environment has relocated wildlife from Etosha National Park to restore animal populations in drought-affected areas, including 256 springboks and 190 gemsboks to Kunene Region, 90 zebras to Nyae Nyae Conservancy, and 15 gemsboks and 24 zebras to Uukwaluudhi Conservancy. The ministry plans further translocations of gemsboks, giraffes, and impalas in coming months to restock species, provide prey for predators, and reduce human-wildlife conflicts.
An elephant at Ongava Game Reserve near Etosha National Park feeds on a termite mound, breaking it apart to ingest the nutrient-dense, mineral-rich clay.
Pupkewitz Toyota and Children in the Wilderness donated conservation equipment worth N$40,000 to rhino rangers protecting desert-adapted black rhinos in the Kunene Region. The donation, which includes backpacks, sleeping bags, binoculars, hiking shoes and knives, was distributed to rangers from Torra, Sesfontein and Anabeb conservancies.
The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has finished a controlled burning exercise in Etosha National Park to reduce excess vegetation and firebreak risks during the August–November wildfire season. The measures, including grading of firebreaks, are expected to reduce the intensity and spread of fires compared to last year.
British businessman Harvey Boulter, awaiting trial on a murder charge, says his extensive business interests in Namibia worth about N$150 million demonstrate he has no intention of fleeing the country. He is considering asking the court to amend his bail conditions to allow limited international business travel on a case-by-case basis.
Namibia's hospitality sector achieved 62.17% national occupancy in May 2026, up from 56.21% in May 2025 and above the pre-pandemic May 2019 benchmark of 55.83%, driven by early-season safari and nature-based tourism demand ahead of the winter dry season. The Northern region led with 65.19% occupancy, while coastal and central regions also posted gains.