The African Wild Dog Conservancy is a registered community-based conservation area in the

Otjozondjupa Region Otjozondjupa is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital is Otjiwarongo. The region further contains the municipalities of Okahandja and Grootfontein and the towns Okakarara and Otavi. , Otjozondjupa had 97,945 registered voters. Geogr ...

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

, covering , with an approximate human population of 4,713 people. It was established through a governmental declaration in 2005. As one of many

communal wildlife conservancies in Namibia Namibia is one of few countries in the world to specifically address habitat conservation and protection of natural resources in their constitution.(Stefanova 2005) Article 95 states, "The State shall actively promote and maintain the welfare of the ...

, it forms part of the country's conservation programme. The geographic area is characterised by thornveld savanna and a sandy, rocky landscape that receives of annual rainfall. Notable geographical features include holy monument sites at Ozonguti and Okozonduzu, underground water resources near the surface in parts of the Okonodjatu pans, and the Ngunib omuramba. The area is home to a variety of wildlife, including wild dogs, kudu, warthogs, ostriches, gemsbok, eland, cheetahs, leopards, and vultures. Local enterprises include the harvesting of Devil's Claw.Government of the Republic of Namibia (2005)
Government Gazette No. 3501
Windhoek

History

The African Wild Dog Conservancy was established through an official declaration in the ''Government Gazette of the Republic of Namibia'' No. 3501 in 2005, following the procedures outlined for the establishment of

in the country's Nature Conservation Ordinance. According to the annual audit carried out in 2023, the African Wild Dog Conservancy had 4,370 inhabitants and 1,200 registered conservancy members. It employs a total of 11 staff, who are tasked with resource monitoring and wildlife protection. An elected committee conducts annual general meetings, approves budgets and work plans, as well as regular conservancy reports. In 2018, the area received the additional status as Community Forest, as defined in Namibia's Forest Act.

Geography

Overview map of the communal conservancies within the Omaheke and Otjozondjupa regions in Namibia

The African Wild Dog Conservancy is located in

, east of the town

Okakarara Okakarara is a town in Otjozondjupa Region, Namibia, located southeast of Waterberg National Park. It has an estimated population of 7,000 and is currently growing by 1,500 inhabitants annually. Okakarara consists of the residential areas of ''Pa ...

. It covers an area of . Notable settlements in the conservation area include Okondjatu, Otjamukuru, Otjinyeka, Ehungiro, and Turauhane. The area features transitional vegetation between the xeric southern

Kalahari The Kalahari Desert is a large semiarid sandy savanna in Southern Africa covering including much of Botswana as well as parts of Namibia and South Africa. It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African Namib coastal d ...

and the northern Kalahari woodlands. This implies generally nutrient poor soils and a susceptibility to

desertification Desertification is a type of gradual land degradation of Soil fertility, fertile land into arid desert due to a combination of natural processes and human activities. The immediate cause of desertification is the loss of most vegetation. This i ...

. The local savanna grassland is characterised by extensive

woody plant encroachment Woody plant encroachment (also called woody encroachment, bush encroachment, shrub encroachment, shrubification, woody plant proliferation, or bush thickening) is a natural phenomenon characterised by the area expansion and density increase of ...

. Local wildlife includes

wild dogs Wild dogs may refer to: *African wild dog also called painted dogs * Dingo–dog hybrids in Australia * Free-ranging dog#Free-ranging unowned dogs, including feral dogs and "wild" dogs * Wild Dogs, an American heavy metal band from Portland, Oregon ...

kudu The kudus are two species of antelope of the genus '' Tragelaphus'': * Lesser kudu, ''Tragelaphus imberbis'', of eastern Africa * Greater kudu, ''Tragelaphus strepsiceros'', of eastern and southern Africa The two species look similar, th ...

, warthogs,

ostriches Ostriches are large flightless birds. Two living species are recognised, the common ostrich, native to large parts of sub-Saharan Africa, and the Somali ostrich, native to the Horn of Africa. They are the heaviest and largest living birds, w ...

gemsbok The gemsbok (''Oryx gazella''), or South African oryx, is a large antelope in the genus '' Oryx''. It is endemic to the dry and barren regions of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and (parts of) Zimbabwe, mainly inhabiting the Kalahari and Nami ...

, eland,

cheetahs The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat and the fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, with a short snout and blac ...

leopards The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

, and

vultures A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

Conservation activities

Supported by the Community Conservation Fund of Namibia and

Cheetah Conservation Fund The Cheetah Conservation Fund is a research and education institution in Namibia concerned with the study and sustenance of the country's cheetah population, the largest and healthiest in the world. Its Research and Education Centre is located ...

, measures for the conservation of the

African Wild Dog The African wild dog (''Lycaon pictus''), also called painted dog and Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus '' Lycaon'', which is disti ...

are implemented in the conservancy. The introduction of adapted livestock guarding dogs is an experimental measure aimed at reducing human-wildlife conflicts. The conservancy was part of trials to enhance biodiversity through the targeted reduction of woody plant encroachment. Woody plants were harvested to restore a more balanced bush to grass ratio, while the resulting woody biomass was used to produce animal fodder.

References

{{Reflist

External links

''The State of Community Conservation in Namibia''

''African Wild Dog Conservancy at Work''
(video) Otjozondjupa Region Nature conservation in Namibia

History

Geography

Conservation activities

See also

References

External links