The annual Tourism expo which took place at the Windhoek show grounds from 18 – 21 May 2016 was packed with people from different areas wanting to know about the Namibian tourism industry and some marketing their products and corporations. This year, representatives from four different conservancies promoted the Community based natural resource management programme at the expo. The four representatives were: Moscow Mulisa, enterprise officer of Mashi conservancy; Lorna Dax, manager of ≠Khoadi-//Hôas conservancy; Lameck Limbo, enterprise officer of Wuparo conservancy and David Eiseb, manager of Sorris Sorris conservancy.
The theme of the communal conservancy stand was “Keeping Namibia’s Wildlife On The Land Means Creating Incentives For Communities”. The wildlife credits initiative which is being piloted in ≠Khoadi-//Hôas and Wuparo conservancy was introduced to the public. The concept is another way locals living with wildlife manage to keep it on land.
A selfie video competition ran during the expo, where the public recorded themselves explaining the importance of keeping Namibia’s wildlife on the land. This was an opportunity to hear the views and opinions of Namibians from different walks of life on the importance of wildlife in the country. A short clip with a compilation of the videos will soon be posted on the NACSO website. The side tracks conservancy booklets were launched by Cymot. These booklets are self-guide maps for tourists visiting the conservancy and want to explore more of the area.
The representatives enjoyed interacting and engaging with the locals which was an interesting experience, especially sharing information about conservancies with people who knew little or nothing about them. The Minister of Environment and Tourism, Hon. Pohamba Shifeta, visited the stand and entered into discussions with the conservancy representatives. The expo was a great platform to share the conservancy story.
