Namibia raises fund for wildlife protection

Namibia needs 115 million Namibian dollars (9 million U.S. dollars) to support its anti-poaching Unit, wildlife conservation and the management of protected areas in the country.

This was revealed at the World Wildlife Day celebration held on Friday in the capital Windhoek.

Held under the theme: Raising Funds for Anti-Poaching, Human Wildlife Conflict Management and Area Management, the event included a fund raising session for stakeholders in wildlife conservation to pledge money and other kinds of support to fight poaching and manage protected areas.

Speaking at the event, Minister of Environment and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta said commitment towards wildlife conservation is a daunting task with government resources alone.

"It is with this understanding that Government would like to partner with the private sector, other institutions as well as multilateral organisations in the conservation of Namibia's wildlife resources." Shifeta said.

The minister welcomed other donations and pledges from local companies that committed themselves to donating vehicles.

Sniffer dogs, drones and gate monitoring systems for parks also featured during the fund raising session.

At the event, the Chinese Embassy in Windhoek pledged 200,000 Namibian dollars(15,400 dollars) while a local insurance company donated five vehicles and drones. Endit