A leader in adventure travel since 1978, Wilderness Travel offers innovative journeys on all seven continents, featuring expert trip leaders, meticulously planned itineraries, and small groups. Committed from the beginning to culturally sensitive and ecologically responsible travel, we strongly believe that tourism can be an extraordinary tool to connect people across borders and cultures, and to promote a more environmentally sustainable and just world.
Quote: “As a proud Namibian having grown up in a Namibian conservation family, I am delighted to share what must be the world’s greatest conservation success story. The progression of areas I witnessed from childhood to today have been nothing short of remarkable. Under the protection of our constitution and the major sacrifices made by many rural Namibians, the northwestern region of Namibia holds a special place in my heart, as it is home to so many conservation successes. It is an area where people have made the conscious decision to live with wildlife, knowing what the challenges are, but working towards a sustainable long-term future. I am proud to be part of this achievement.”
Who: Wilderness Travel and Namibian partners Conservation Travel Foundation, Desert Lion Project, AfriCat, Save the Rhino Trust, and Cheetah Conservation Fund
Theme: We work with our partners in Namibia to identify and support community-based development projects and conservation initiatives that sustain ecological integrity, protect biodiversity, support cultural heritage, and contribute to the social and economic well-being of rural communities.
Websites:
www.wildernesstravel.com
www.conservationtravelfoundation.org
http://cheetah.org/
Topics: KEY WORDS. Namibia, Conservation, Desert Lion, AfriCat, Rhino, Cheetah
Project Summary:
Wilderness Travel supports innovative conservation work in Namibia in a variety of ways. We support the work of the Conservation Travel Foundation and the Cheetah Conservation Fund through direct annual grants, and provide education about and funding to the Desert Lion Project and Save the Rhino Trust through our In The Realm of the Desert Lion trip.
Project Background:
Wilderness Travel is always seeking opportunities to partner with innovative and effective conservation organizations, and to support their important work. Our partnerships in Nambia have developed in a variety of ways. Laurie Marker, founder of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, was a guest speaker at Wilderness Travel’s Perspectives on Southern Africa symposium in Botswana in 2007, and we have supported the fund on an annual basis since that time. We came to the Conservation Travel Foundation through our partners in Namibia, who established the foundation as an avenue to form and strengthen links between responsible conservation travelers and Namibia’s cultural and natural heritage.
In The Realm of the Desert Lion was conceived at the Adventure Travel World Summit in Namibia in 2013, as a way for travelers to actively support and learn about innovative conservation projects in the country.
Project Implementation:
The objectives of the Conservation Travel Foundation are pursued through a strategy of supporting a number of small but critical projects, achieving maximum benefit with minimal bureaucratic delay. Projects include the Rhino Custodians Rapid Response Fund, Desert Lion Conservation, the Grootberg Primary School, and veterinary services for the AfriCat Foundation.
The Cheetah Conservation Fund is the world’s leading organization dedicated to saving the cheetah in the wild. Founded by Dr. Laurie Marker in 1990, CCF has created a set of integrated programs aimed at addressing the principle threats to the cheetah. Using its scientific research as an underpinning, CCF has created a set of integrated programs that together address the threats both to the cheetah and its entire ecosystem, including human populations.
During our In The Realm of the Desert Lion trip, travelers have special opportunities to radio-track leopards and track cheetah on foot with the AfriCat Foundation, track desert rhinos with the Save the Rhino Trust, and seek out lions with the Desert Lion Project, learning about the conservation work of each of these organizations in the field, while contributing to their bottom lines. On one special departure each year, participants will spend extra time at the AfriCat Foundation during their annual health checks, and possibly assist as the cats are weighed and measured for research purposes, vaccinated, and treated for parasites.
Project Outcomes & Conclusions:
Funding of the Conservation Travel Foundation has directly contributed to construction of an anti-rhino poaching camp in the heart of Damaraland, and significant support of AfriCat’s annual health checks on the big cats in their program. Funding of the Cheetah Conservation Fund has aided their innovate efforts which include genetics research, the livestock guarding dog program, habitat restoration, and community outreach. Direct interaction with conservation projects on our In The Realm of the Desert Lion trip has had a significant ripple effect, as our returning travelers – often influential people – speak, write, and share pictures of their journey.
We have found that US-based travelers are more likely to make donations if they can claim a tax deduction for their contributions, and making this possible with organizations based outside the US can be a challenge. In an effort to maximize the potential for fundraising, we have often been able to identify US-based organizations with tax-deductibility status who are partners with organizations in countries like Namibia, and seeking out these avenues has allowed us to maximize our fundraising effort.
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