11. Communities and elephants in the northern highlands, Kunene Region, Namibia

We consider a unique population of elephant (Loxodonta africana) dwelling in an area known as the northern highlands to the west of Etosha National Park. These highlands are a remote, arid, mountainous landscape where elephants co-exist with rural communities. There is minimal published research on this population of elephants. As part of our scoping for a research project on this population of elephants, we consulted with game guards from 10 conservancies in 2021 and 2022 on their knowledge of elephant populations, and carried out analysis of Event Book data on human-elephant conflict (HEC) incidents reported in Orupupa and Ehi-Rovipuka conservancies. The community conservancy model has had much success in shaping local attitudes in Kunene Region and increasing the perceived value of wildlife. These successes are being eroded, however, by competition between local people and wildlife over resources––particularly in the context of drought years in north-west Namibia between 2013 and 2020. We conclude that there is a strong case for expanding the roles of community game guards to strengthen the protection of the elephants in the northern highlands. One suggestion is for community game guards to be offered additional training as “elephant rangers” who can guide tourists in the area, the assumption being that this would increase revenue to community conservancies and help to enhance local perceptions of the value of wildlife.