THE TOURISM-CONSERVATION GAP
Tourism has been amongst the most important industries in Namibia. Since 2014 foreign arrivals started growing significantly, which continued until 2019 with a contribution of approximately 14.7% to GDP. Because of its relatively long value chain, tourism has a substantial contribution to the country’s employment, both directly and indirectly, making up 15.4% of the total in 2019. Namibia’s landscapes, wildlife and authentic cultures, combined with good infrastructure and low levels of crime, will grow Namibia’s popularity as a tourism destination. Although tourism has much potential to make positive impacts, it can put pressure on natural resources including endangered species, lead to soil erosion and habitat loss. Another common issue of tourism is the unequal distribution of benefits.
Looking into the future, we believe that with its wide-open landscapes, free-roaming wildlife and authentic traditional cultures, Namibia will continue to be an inspiration for travellers from all around the world. The contemporary, conscious traveller will be eager to learn more about Namibia’s conservation successes. This encourages the tourism sector to continue reimagining its relationship with nature, and it inspires us at TOSCO to continue finding new ways to bridge tourism and conservation. To achieve its vision, TOSCO’s work is centered around consolidating its two pillars of tourism and conservation within three relevant and pertinent themes:
Through its work, TOSCO aims to grow tourism-related support for community-centered conservation. This growth will be achieved by strengthening and deepening the relationship of tourism and conservation, by ensuring that tourism contributes to poverty alleviation and rural economic development, whilst answering the traveller’s need for transparency in terms of their impact, as well as more authentic and engaging experiences.
Our mission is to provide a benchmark for sustainable tourism in Namibia by ensuring that tourism conserves the natural reources it depends on. By linking travel to actual, positive conservation outcomes for the benefit of nature and communities, we assist tourism businesses in being the responsible agent that travellers are looking for.
My immense love for the natural world made me want to devote my life to conservation from an early age. And as an avid traveler, I understand why exploring the unknown can be so enriching for many of us. I left my home country, the Netherlands after completing my MSC in Tourism, Society and Environment. When I arrived in Namibia from the Netherlands, it appeared the ultimate country to learn what successful conservation is about. After having worked in the tourism industry as a sustainability consultant, I could not have found a better organisation than TOSCO to involve tourism tourism into the conservation impact on behalf of the travel community. I am very excited to see TOSCO evolving and to growing the organisation further!
I was born and raised in northern Namibia, and studied Natural Resources Management at NUST. I am passionate about nature and have a special interest in understanding animal behaviour, in particular in relation to human-wildlife conflict, as well as high regards to community based tourism. Particularly during my internship with the Kamutjonga Inland Fisheries Institute (KIFI) I developed a keen interest in environmental conservation. I feel so lucky to work at an organisation that promotes responsible tourism in Namibia and that supports conservation. My ultimate dream is to see wild animals roaming freely in a healthy environment.
Organising tours in the remote areas of north-western Namibia since 1998, I got to know Damaraland and Kaokoland, with its fauna and flora and people. In the early days, I did not see much more than 3-5 cars on a 14-day safari. That was paradise! Although I guided so many safaris throughout Namibia, Botswana and Zambia, my heart is still in that part of Namibia. I'm particularly passionate about the desert elephants, and dedicated to conserve these animals, and other fauna and lora of my beloved Namibia. I am proud to have been part of what TOSCO has achieved over all these years, growing year by year!
I grew up in Namibia, where i arrived in 1997 from Belgium, After a 7 year stint in South Africa, where i obtained my MSc in Zoology frm Rhodes University, I returned home in 2012 and became more familiar with the CBNRM(Community Based Natural Resource Management) approach through my position as High Value Plants Project Facilitator at IRDNC. I then moved to the tourism industry, working as a freelance tour guide for 8 years, where I became increasingly aware of the important role TOSCO plays in linking tourism to conservation. In 2020, the pandemic put my guiding career on hold, and I joined TOSCO as the Lion Rangers program administrator, a role that includes coordinating Lion Ranger patrols in the Northwest, organising ranger training, equipment procurement and overseeing the implementation of the SMART(Social Monitoring and Reporting Tool) system into the program. I am passionate about the CBNRM approach and believe it plays a pivotal role in successful conservation!
I started working as a ranger in 2016, I learned tracking lions at home, when I was a farmer. If they came to another person's kraal, I used to go there and try to track them to see how far they went and when they arrived at that kraal and how many meters were left between us. I like the lions, because to me they are very important animals and I still want to know more about lions, so that i can also train my children. Even when I get old, then they will already know what the lions do, what they like and what they don't like. And they must know lions behaviour. But i like other animals to, to me everything is unique and special. I can say, I am a good tracker and i like to track animals. I hope that I can continue this job for many years and train other people as well in lion tracking.
When I was young, I grew up with a man was a community gam huard. He always took me with him in the field.That's when I started to see that this job is very important, and when I started to like the lions and all other animals. When i was farming my goats and sheep, I always saw the Human Wildlife Support Team working in the field. I wanted to join them, and volunteered myself to their team. I officially became a Ranger in 2018. I enjoy being in the field and going on patrols, to try and be close to the lions so they don't get close to the farmers livestock and create conflict.Because if the lions start to be aggressive then the farmers will start to be against the lions. I am a hard worker, whatever time you come and tell me that we need to go somewhere or do something now, I don't say no or tell you that I have something else to do. I am always ready to go! I will always want to stay in conservation. I hope I will get more training in the future, because it helps to do the work well.
I grew up on a farm near Outjo and I have been interested in animals since i was young, I always wanted to become a ranger. I volunteered myself to help build the Ombonde fly camp for Lion Rangers. Then I started working as a Tosco ranger in 2021.My favorite animal is a lion because one year I stayed with my family near Etosha. There are a lot of lions, so I want to learn more about them. When I used to go to a water point I used to see even two or three lions and I liked to see them but they used to be far away, like 50 metres away. My favorite part of being a ranger is to patrol. I want to learn this thing of patrolling from someone who knows how to do that very well, like Rodney Tjavara. He taught me many things that i didn't know. So I want to go to Rodney even for one month to stay there and work with him and learn other things from him again.
I am Rodney Tjavara from Purros Conservancy and I am looking after the lions. I started working in conservation when I was 36 years old, when I joined Doctor Phillip Stander. We met in 2012 in my village, Tomakas and I started helping him as a ranger, until 2014, then I started working at Tosco as a ranger. I want to work as a ranger because I like nature, but also because I want to help my community.The lions are in my conservancy, and I am fighting for both of them, on the one side I am looking after the lions. I want to help both of them. I also see the lions are very important for the tourists. And for my kids, to see them in the future and know them in real life. In the future, I want to follow the same way Dr. Philip Stander is going, and stay closer to where the lions are.
I was born and raised in France. Thinking that true wilderness was something of the past. I discovered to my suprise that this was not true for Namibia, where upon my first arrival he found most of the country still untouched by humans. The pristine nature, open spaces and free-roaming wildlife made me fall in love with the country with the country, which is why i decided to settle here. I started working as a tour guide, but soon I felt tourism was not doing enough to protect Namibia's environment. Two conservationists who crossed my path changed my life and career forever. Garth Owen Smith and Dr. Philip Stander made me realise the role that tourism could and should play in conservation. In 2012 I founded TOSCO, with the aim to build a bridge between tourism and conservation. 10 years later, I decided that it is time to let the organisation grow with a new generation, but I will remain an advisor in my position as Chairperson.
I was born and bred at the coast, in Swakopmund where I have resided for all my life. I have always been fascinated with the natural environment, and am most happy when I have the opportunity to explore the great outdoors. In 2017 I started my career in the tourism industry as a tour guide, which is when I learned about TOSCO. In my work as a guide I am committed to safeguarding the environment, and TOSCO is the perfect platform for me to do more for conservation. I have grown especially respect for the game guards and rangers, who walk long distances over challenging and dangerous terrains, sometimes days in a row. We have already supported game guards of various conservancies with uniforms, tents, binoculars and various other equipment. I find it important to bring tourism benefits also to areas where tourism is completely absent, and I hope in the future to also bring my guests to these areas, and introduce them to the communities in these areas that work so hard to conserve Namibia's wildlife they come to see.
I was born and raised in Lyon, France. For my studies I lived in China and South Africa which increased my appetite for discovering new countries, cultures and people. I arrived in Namibia in 2014, and until today I am still roaming throughout the land of the brave. Today, I manage a tourism company that is promoting responsible tourism in the country. Curious by nature, I traveled on the Namibian roads to witness the beauties of the country. I was surprised to see that people here cohabitate with wild animals, some of them dangerous, for their cattle but also for their own life. I slowly started to understand what Félix was trying to explain the year I arrived. Tourism can and must support conservation. I joined TOSCO in 2017 to coordinate the Awareness programme. I believe that education is the key to better understanding and respecting the environment we live in. I see tourism as a powerful tool that TOSCO is making use of for sustainable development, enabling future generations to enjoy tomorrow’s wildlife as we are enjoying it today.
“TOSCO identifies conservation priority needs on the ground and provides timely and well-directed assistance. In this way, the tourism sector is able to achieve high-impact conservation linked to community development. (…) Their potential to continue to grow and expand their work once the impacts of COVID have passed is significant. Your assistance in helping them get through the next year is important and would be greatly appreciated by both the tourism and conservation sectors.” – Dr. Christopher J. Brown (CEO of NCE)
“In my capacity as the Director of the Namibia Association for CBNRM Support Organizations (NACSO) and having a long working relation with TOSCO, I can gladly attest to their significant contribution in promoting responsible tourism and being a link between community conservation and the tourism industry, especially in north western Namibia. By acquiring broader support in terms of funding, it will enable their activities, as an institution, to further contribute to the broader CBNRM goals.” – Maxi Louis (Director of NACSO)
“I came to learn about TOSCO by watching what they do, they speak less and do more. They have been critical in providing exceptional support to variety of projects in the northwest. As a new upcoming support agency, their footprint in terms of support and the impact of their assistance is visible in the northwest.My feeling is that they will get their hands dirty with the massive task that they have recently embarked on in close collaboration with IRDNC and MEFT that of minimizing elephant related damages to community properties such as gardens and water points.” – John Kenena Kasaona, Executive Director, Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation.
“TOSCO is a committed organization that uses tourism as a vehicle to support community-based wildlife conservation initiatives in northwestern Namibia. TOSCO played an instrumental role in assisting the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism with human-wildlife conflict, particularly the conflict between the arid-adapted lions and the local farmers in Kunene Region. TOSCO’s support and involvement have led to reduced human-lion conflict incidences and have further improved the capacity of the local communities to respond to human-lion conflict incidences.” Kenneth Heinrich /Uiseb, Deputy Director, Wildlife Monitoring and Research, Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism
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My immense love for the natural world made me want to devote my life to conservation from an early age. My MSc in Tourism, Society, and Environment in the Netherlands grew my passion for the role sustainable tourism can take in conservation. As an avid traveler, I understand why exploring the unknown can be so enriching for many of us and I hope future generations can still enjoy traveling. I am originally from the Netherlands, and arrived in Namibia in 2016. It appeared the ultimate country to learn what successful conservation is about.
I could not have found a better organisation than TOSCO to involve tourism in the conservation equation. I joined TOSCO in 2019, initially coordinating the Desert Lion Program, and then became manager in 2020. Apart from that, I am involved in the Wildlife Credits program on behalf of TOSCO, partnering with WWF Namibia and CCFN. Through TOSCO and working with rural communities and other conservation partners, I really got to understand what successful conservation is about. I am very excited to grow TOSCO further with the team, broadening the connection between tourism and conservation by getting more of the tourism industry to join our movement, and deepening this connection by making conservation an integral part of tourism and the travel experience. I believe TOSCO with its team and programs can make a real difference!
My immense love for the natural world made me want to devote my life to conservation from an early age. My MSc in Tourism, Society, and Environment in the Netherlands grew my passion for the role sustainable tourism can take in conservation. As an avid traveler, I understand why exploring the unknown can be so enriching for many of us and I hope future generations can still enjoy traveling. I am originally from the Netherlands, and arrived in Namibia in 2016. It appeared the ultimate country to learn what successful conservation is about.
I could not have found a better organisation than TOSCO to involve tourism in the conservation equation. I joined TOSCO in 2019, initially coordinating the Desert Lion Program, and then became manager in 2020. Apart from that, I am involved in the Wildlife Credits program on behalf of TOSCO, partnering with WWF Namibia and CCFN. Through TOSCO and working with rural communities and other conservation partners, I really got to understand what successful conservation is about.
I am very excited to grow TOSCO further with the team, broadening the connection between tourism and conservation by getting more of the tourism industry to join our movement, and deepening this connection by making conservation an integral part of tourism and the travel experience. I believe TOSCO with its team and programs can make a real difference!