The Fish River in Namibia has slowly worn away the earth over the last 500 million years to create the Fish River Canyon. A hike through the canyon is a challenging yet rewarding experience. Photo is courtesy of the Gondwana Collection. All rights reserved.

Namibia achieved independence from South Africa in 1990. Since then, the young country has been recovering in fits and starts from the inflicted wounds of Apartheid and a long history of instability. Since the early 1990s, the country has enjoyed a welcome period of constancy and is looking for ways to build on its foundation and best use its resources to help Namibian people. But satisfying the demands of the people means understanding the geographical challenges of the country. For example, characterised by stark deserts of sparse vegetation, the Sossusvlei and Southern Namibia regions are quite different from other areas of Namibia; this has made life difficult for the rural inhabitants, the majority of which farm and raise livestock.

Going… Going… Gondwana!

As international travellers increasingly become aware of Namibia’s blend of relative government stability, natural beauty and cultural distinctiveness, the tourism industry is growing stronger and offering locals an attractive way to support their families.

One meaningful way actually allows conscientious travellers to contribute actively and directly to the local economy by signing on with a local travel company passionate about preserving the environment and sustaining livelihoods in the southern region. The Gondwana Collection is truly forging the way for mindful and sustainable tourism and encompasses four private nature reserves in Southern Namibia – Gondwana Kalahari Park, Gondwana Cañon Park, Gondwana Sperrgebiet Park and Gondwana Namib Park – all connected by the Gondwana Four Deserts Route. These four conservancies lie in horseshoe formation, making it easy for holidaymakers to tour the area by car and partake in the activities that each area offers.

Though the true origin of the feral horses that now inhabit the Namib Desert remains a mystery, these animals have certainly made a name for themselves. Travellers flock to witness these horses that have adapted to the harsh desert conditions. Photo courtesy of the Gondwana Collection. All rights reserved.

Many people start their excursions at the top of the ‘horseshoe’ on the red sands of the Kalahari – an area known for its abundant wildlife and expansive dunes – before progressing to the famous Quiver Tree Forest north of Keetmanshoop. An itinerary could then continue with the Wild Horses of Namib near Aus, seeing the diamond ghost town of Kolmanskop, the gigantic rock arch of Bogenfels south of Lüderitz or a list of about 20 other equally varied and exciting things to see and do.

On every agenda, however, the great Fish River Canyon should not be overlooked, as it is said to offer some of the most beautiful hikes in all of Africa. Trekkers will need to be in fairly decent shape and should book long in advance for the few available permits! All along the way, hikers will experience a destination that was unprotected only 20 years ago; Gondwana has steadily been buying farmland and rehabilitating the desert landscape to create this network of conserved parks.

Gondwana Acts Responsibly

At the end of a long and invigorating hike, rest assured that Gondwana can provide you a hot meal and comfy places to bed down. During an overnight stay, guests will encounter some of the staff of 130 now gainfully employed in a region that only counted a few dozen herders in years past – a great boon for a country where the unemployment rate lingers between 40 and 50 percent. These employees are even given opportunities for personal growth through education and career training, since Gondwana offers classes in, among other things, vegetable gardening, hospitality service training, HIV/AIDS peer education, English and German. Guest lecturers also cover topics such as domestic violence, family planning and sexuality, and alcohol and drug abuse, as well as personal insurance and banking.

The springbok antelope has adapted to the dry terrain of the Kalahari Desert in Namibia and can survive as long as their food has at least 10% water content. They can run at speeds of up to 80kph and can jump more than 10 metres in a single bound. Photo courtesy of Hentie Burger/Gondwana Collection Photo Gallery. All rights reserved.

Additionally, the organisation has created a Self-Sufficiency Centre, which is a five-hectare farm that provides fruit, vegetables, meat, cheese, milk and eggs to cover about 70 percent of the needs for all guest meals in Gondwana’s lodges and camps. Growing its own locally sourced food, the centre not only cuts down on ingredients imported from South Africa, but also provides 13 more full-time jobs.

In a country still finding its post-Apartheid footing, the Gondwana Collection is part of Namibia’s hope for a stronger and sustainable economic future. A stay in one of the Gondwana Collection’s accommodations helps fund their conservation and social work initiatives; thus far in 2010 about 5% of Gondwana Cañon Park’s turnover has been re-invested in nature and community outreach.

The distinctive uakari monkey is one of Brazil's Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve's most famous, yet elusive characters. Not the Amazon's most beautiful creature, it nevertheless puts on an impressive display, leaping over six metres between branches.

Guarding the Gateway to the Amazon

Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve came into being in 1996 and has the distinction of being the first sustainable-development reserve in Brazil. Located west of Manaus, in the northwest state of Amazonas, the reserve is the largest protected area of flooded forest in the Amazon and the only place where várzea flooded forest is actively conserved. This fragile and unique ecosystem boasts incredible biodiversity, including many endemic plant and animal species.

The reserve staff work together with local communities to promote sustainable resource management; this pioneering work means that native populations now know which trees they can cut down for wood and how much they can fishing without depleting endangered pirarucu populations.

Many locals actively participate in the ecotourism initiative, acting as kitchen staff and guides. Their vast knowledge and passion for their home mean that the chances of glimpsing some of the area’s more elusive inhabitants, such as the once-endangered black caiman and the notoriously shy uakari monkey are greatly improved!

Fortifying the Fringe Communities of Mole National Park

Mole National Park, in the north of the country, is the largest protected area in Ghana and a key site for biodiversity conservation.

In Ghana, local women in Mognori Eco-Village fry gari, a local food made from cassava

Covering an area of 4840 square kilometres, the park is surrounded by 30 fringe communities with a population of around 30,000. These communities are overseen by Mole National Park’s Collaborative Resource Management Unit, the aim of which is to involve the local people in the sustainable exploitation of the park’s resources and to promote a collaborative approach to conservation.

One exemplary community has developed into an eco-village, where visitors can enjoy tours, homestays, cultural performances, canoe safaris and visits to the traditional medicine man and weaver. The creation of the Mognori Eco-Village has led to dramatic decreases in poaching in the surrounding area as villagers can make a living without destroying the park’s natural resources. The education initiatives set up to teach villagers about the importance of conservation have also been crucial.

Conserving the Kings of the Namibian Desert

The Cardboard Box Travel Shop, the former whl.travel local connection in Sossusvlei and South Namibia has long supported the Desert Lion Conservation Project, launched in 1998 to protect the hardy felines that make their home in the harsh Namib Desert.

The lion is surprisingly adaptable and resilient, which helps it survive even in the extreme conditions of the desert. Namibia's desert lions do not need to drink, and feed primarily on gemsbok and ostrich.

Created and run by Professor Stander, an expert in big cats who spent 23 years working for the country’s Ministry of Environment and Tourism, the project is designed both to protect the desert lion species and to reduce threats to human communities living in their midst.

The desert lion is a big draw for the Namibian tourist industry, but local communities have never had a shared in the financial benefits, even while lion attacks on their livestock have led to poisonings, shootings and trapping. Stander’s work includes the tracking and monitoring of desert lions and the implementation of human-lion conflict management plans in the local communities. The development of lion eco-safaris has brought new opportunities for locals, who can now profit directly from efforts to protect and conserve this national treasure.

Accommodation with Conscience in Southern Uganda

Mihingo Lodge, on the outskirts of Lake Mburo National Park in Uganda, is a luxury hotel with heart. Not only is the accommodation environmentally friendly, but the lodge has also set up the Mihingo Conservation and Community Development Foundation (CCDF), which aims to “improve the living conditions of the surrounding communities and improve conservation efforts on the eastern side of Lake Mburo National Park.” There are currently plans to expand their remit to include other areas of the park.

Uganda's sumptuous Mihingo Lodge is bush chic at its best. Each of its 10 secluded rooms is raised on stilts, covered with a thatched roof and offers fabulous views of nearby Lake Mburo National Park.

Mihingo CCDF has so far instigated a number of successful initiatives, including the Mihingo Leopard Project (the conservation of predators in the park through education of local communities to reduce human-wildlife conflict, and the compensation of farmers whose livestock were killed by leopards or hyenas); the Mihingo Education Project (sponsoring secondary education); and the Mihingo Craft Project.

The foundation has set up each project with sustainability in mind. As a result the initiatives either finance themselves or receive continued support through the fundraising efforts of the foundation itself.

Galvanising Greece’s Green Belt

Greece is still recovering from the extensive fires that ravaged the Attica region, close to Athens, in August 2009. Attica is a densely forested area and the local tree populations were all but decimated by blazes that scorched 210,000 stremmata (the Greek measurement for square metre).

As part of the Green Belt initiative, school children get their hands dirty planting trees to help regenerate forests damaged by wildfires in Greece

This was but one of several wildfires over the years that have left forests unable to regenerate themselves. Green Belt, a Greek environmental nongovernmental organisation has therefore intervened with a plan to plant 60,000 trees in the next five years. The first stage of reforestation already took place in November 2009. Green Belt aims to improve the durability of the region’s sylvan spread by planting trees with fire-resistant properties, such as oak, as well as trees that are able to hold the soil together and prevent erosion, such as willows.

The initiative has rallied participation from schools in the Attica Basin, and garnered support (both fiscal and physical) from the US Embassy as part of its educational environmental programme.

Trumpeting Conservation Efforts on the Melanesian Island of Tetepare

The Solomon Islands, an archipelago east of Papua New Guinea, are celebrated for their rich biodiversity and endemic flora and fauna. Today, though, to protect against the blighting effects of worldwide environmental degradation, numerous environmental-protection initiatives are being put in place. One of them, created by the Tetepare Descendants’ Association (TDA) on Tetepare Island, has seen it heralded as “one of the conservation jewels of the Solomon Islands.”

Established as defence against commercial loggers keen on the island’s dense, pristine rainforest, the TDA’s efforts have paid off grandly; the area remains wild and untouched and is now both an internationally acclaimed conservation area of archaeological significance and a popular ecotourism destination.

Accommodation is available at a locally run ecolodge, from which visitors can enjoy snorkelling in one of the largest Marine Protected Areas in the Solomons, home to dugongs, dolphins and three species of turtles, and study rare and endangered bird and animal species. Although Tetepare is mostly as it was centuries ago, thankfully there are no more headhunters!