Diversifying income with Wildlife Credits

The income generated by tourism and conservation hunting provides support to many Namibian conservancies, but even with high tourism numbers, is not sufficient to fully meet the needs of conservancies. In addition, tourism and conservation hunting do not necessarily connect conservation action directly with community benefits. One model which seeks to achieve this goal is Wildlife Credits.

Wildlife Credits is a payment for ecosystem services where conservation performance payments are made to wildlife stewards based on verified conservation results. These results are tangible targets such as increasing sightings of important species (rhino, elephant, lion) and the maintenance of elephant corridors. The aim is to develop at least six Wildlife Credit products and eventually exceed the target of US$ 2 million per annum, an amount similar to the income generated through tourism and conservation hunting. In addition to donor and grant funding, Wildlife Credits is also seeking payments sourced from private funders who are interested parties willing to pay for conservation performance that goes directly to the wildlife and conservation stewards. The funding for Wildlife Credits is managed through the Community Conservation Fund of Namibia (CCFN).

The concept of Wildlife Credits has gained widespread recognition and acceptance, both nationally and internationally, as an effective mechanism for providing conservation performance payments to environmental stewards, particularly conservancies. This approach ensures that those who safeguard ecosystems and manage wildlife, which are considered global assets, receive direct benefits. The increasing interest in Wildlife Credits is evident by its inclusion in national processes such as Corridor Strategies, Elephant Management Plans, and the National Conference on Human Wildlife Conflict (HWC), in international initiatives such as the WWF Network on Wildlife WILDLIFE CREDITS and Biodiversity Credits Working Groups, and in various webinars and stakeholder presentations. At the conservancy level, especially given the impact of COVID-19, Wildlife Credits is being highly recognised as an alternative income opportunity to cover the costs of conservation. Over 15 conservancies have already signed contracts or are in the process of doing so with the CCFN. Currently, three products are available to conservancies – Wildlife Corridors, Wildlife Zones, and the Kunene Lions – with four additional products in development. Some of these new products will be based on the performance of specific species, considering factors such as densities, presence and breeding numbers.

The Wildlife Zones product will facilitate payments for land reserved for conservation purposes. This has far-reaching implications across the conservancies where this concept is currently being introduced, offering support to those with limited wildlife numbers and no joint venture (JV) tourism, that can still offer a conservation value. The Wildlife Zones product aligns with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, specifically the 30×30 target.

Innovative technology such as camera traps, satellite data and SMART are used to monitor performance and other methods such as an artificial intelligence performance dashboard are currently under development. Monitoring data on wildlife and habitats are captured and uploaded onto a system which analyses and then outputs results as bankable products (performance certificates) through global markets and partnerships. Wildlife Credits has the potential to match income generated through tourism and conservation hunting and provide a more sustainable and reliable income source secure from the risks of global health and economic crises. The Wildlife Credits website is https://wildlifecredits.com/.