Large scale ecosystem conservation and carbon sequestration opportunity

NamibRand East Nature Reserve

One of Africa’s last great wilderness areas, Namibia’s desert landscape is a place of extraordinary beauty – of large grass plains, red sand dunes and 120m year-old granite inselbergs. It now also offers an unprecedented philanthropic investment opportunity. At low cost relative to other conservation land opportunities, the NamibRand East Nature Reserve project in the pro-Namib region will create a new sister reserve to the existing NamibRand Nature Reserve to safeguard an irreplaceable ecosystem and re-wild land that has suffered from periods of drought and the harsh landscape has made it difficult for farmers to make a living. The new reserve will re-condition a large-scale functioning ecosystem and restore ancient migration routes which have been blocked by farm fences. Re-wilding this area will allow significant carbon sequestration to take place alongside protection of endangered species. We can build a sustainable way forward for a large block of land to increase biomass, restore grasslands, protect endangered species and help the people and economy of Namibia.

HISTORY | A Commitment to Conservation

One of Africa’s youngest countries, Namibia has demonstrated a commitment to conservation from its foundation. After attaining its independence in 1990, from South Africa’s then-apartheid government, the new country embedded a focus on natural resources, healthy ecosystems, and biodiversity for the benefit of both people and wildlife directly into its constitution. Read more

THE LANDSCAPE | A Vast and Ancient Place

Along the country’s western border, the world’s oldest desert, the Namib, follows the coast for nearly 2,000 km (about 1,200 mi) reaching north into Angola and south into South Africa. Living up to its name, which means “vast place,” the Namib stretches eastward from the coast for 130-160 km (80-100 mi), gradually ascending until it reaches the Great Escarpment, the edge of the plateau that separates the region’s highland interior from the coastal zone.
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THE CHALLENGE | Farming and Fences

For generations, wildlife survived in this stark and unforgiving landscape, migrating in response to changing climate and grazing conditions, moving from west to east, following the rains. In the 1950’s some of the Pro-Namib land was given as a reward to soldiers who fought for the Allies in the Second World War.
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THE SOLUTION | Fence-Free Namib

The challenges of the past, exacerbated by a continuing drought – for seven years, almost no rainfall has been recorded here – and the devastating economic impacts of COVID-19, have created an opportunity to buy out many of these last remaining livestock farms.
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OUR STRATEGY | Next Steps

Along with the land purchase fund, a new endowment will be established that will be invested in low risk assets for a yield that will pay the basic running costs of the new reserve.
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THE OPPORTUNITY | How You Can Make a Difference

The NamibRand East Wilderness Reserve project is an exciting philanthropic investment opportunity—a chance to make a lasting difference for biodiversity, carbon, wildlife and people in one of the world’s most dramatic landscapes.
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The NamibRand Conservation Trust

The NamibRand Conservation Trust was established in March 2020 in order to facilitate the acquisition of land for conservation and to raise funds for the Environment.

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