I spent last week in the bush traveling through the Kunene region of Namibia’s north west. This region is a stronghold of the Herero and the Himba. The Himba are most recognizable for the women's distinctive red clay-coated braids. They still live a very traditional lifestyle, though they have a complex past with the Herero. The complexity is becoming more pronounced. First of all, the Himba are Herero. In the early 20th century the Germans committed acts of genocide against the Herero, who had at the time a larger presence in Namibia. This was at a time when many of them still lived as traditional pastoralists, as the Himba do now. The Herero not killed were scattered. Those that remained living traditionally had nothing and became known as beggars, or “himba.” Despite the derogatory nature of the name, it has stuck. Today they remain farmers and, unfortunately, still must resort to some degree to begging. Most of the Himba stay in their small family villages, but come to town to offer jewelry and carvings they make to tourists.
Aside from tourism, there is little economic opportunity for many rural living people.
The Herero, largely farmers as well, are more modernized and can have contentious relations with the Himba. I spent a week traveling with a group of Herero who represented two conservancies that are extremely important for the conservation of black rhinos. They were touring the conservancies and discussing plans for making these areas self-supporting. The conversations were typically in regards to locations for and viability of new travel lodges. As we traveled the area, another topic that frequently came was the Himba. The Himba have become a frustration to land managers. There has been a years-long court battle trying to evict these semi-nomadic people from these conservation areas. It is not a comfortable issue to be tangled in. On the one hand, the Himba are some of the poorest people in Namibia, keeping their wealth as cattle and goats. These livestock can easily be decimated in times of drought, like five-year long drought Kunene is enduring now. The Himba often are in desperation, searching for water and new grazing lands. On the other hand, their grazing practices are hugely damaging to the ecology of these conservancies on which critically endangered animals rely. The Herero cite the fact that much of the northern part of the country is community owned and the Himba are free to graze any of those areas. The Herero are desperate for tourism in the area as money from abroad is vital to support conservation efforts. In short, the solution being levied is to evict the Himba and bring in tourism. Here I must withhold opinion and remain an observer. It is neither my culture nor business to decide the right answer. There is a spectrum of stakeholders on the land: poor farmers to local conservationists to wealthy outsiders.
A luxury lodge whose profits would go towards conservation efforts. Money ran out prior to completion and new funding is currently being sought out. Springbok pass in the foreground.
A pastoralist Himba village, one of many being evicted from conservation lands due to impact of their grazing on the ecosystem.
The black rhinos are imperiled. Of the 4000 remaining, half of them live in Namibia. Poaching of their horns for use in traditional medicine and as a status symbol has become rampant and their numbers remain in decline. In economic terms, their value is in tourism and in illegal extractive use. These values are at the moment mutually exclusive. Poachers themselves are painted as greedy murderers, but many of them choose to poach out of desperation to feed their families. While the international price for rhino horn is currently as high as $65,000 per pound; greater than that of gold and cocaine, the local poachers barely make any profit. They may be paid as little as $50 for a rhino horn. Certain groups in the area have taken up a nuanced and hopeful strategy to protect the rhino. Rhinos need to be observed and tracked by people who understand the animals and the land they inhabit. It turns out that some of the most qualified people to do this are themselves convicted poachers. Becoming protectors of the rhino is an essential role to be performed, and provides an important income for these people.
Cutting off a rhino’s horn has become an act no longer done by poachers alone. It has actually become a technique used by conservationists. Eliminate the product, and the poacher has no reason to kill except out of spite. However, the problem that arises is that the animal loses its horn. The horn is essentially a modified clump of hair that regrows, but it is needed by the animal for self-defense. This blurs the notion of what it means to be wild as these animals must be managed on some level.
Through intimate understanding of the ecosystem and rhinoceros ecology, master trackers are able to locate and monitor the animals over dramatic, harsh landscapes.
Black rhino horns are often preemptively removed to dissuade poachers from killing the animals.