Publication: Local effects of trophy hunting in Namibian conservancies

In addition to wildlife conservation, Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) programmes aim to foster regional development. To achieve this, communal areas couple to tourism Global Production Networks (GPN). In this paper, we conceptualise Namibian communal Conservancies as Social-Ecological Systems (SES) and combine the SES and GPN approaches to benefit from the SESF’s explanatory power for ecological and social relationships at a local level as well as from the GPN grasp of global linkages. We analyse the impact of trophy hunting on three communal conservancies in Namibia: King Nehale, Nyae Nyae, and Ehi-Rovipuka. Although wildlife numbers in these conservancies have increased, positive economic impacts are often insufficient, unevenly distributed across regions, and parts of the population are excluded. At the same time, findings indicate that in some areas, where revenues are larger and population is smaller, benefits from hunting can be significant and can contribute to SES sustainability.

Gargallo. E., and Kalvelage. L., (2020): Integrating social-ecological systems and global production networks: local effects of trophy hunting in Namibian conservancies. Development Southern Africa. DOI

More CRC News

Online Seminar: Navigating the Green Energy Dilemma – a Case Study of Geothermal Development in Kenya

Thu, 27 August 2026 | 13:00 – 14:00 (SAST) Clemens Greiner is a researcher in our sub-project “C02: Energy Futures“. He focuses on the political ecology ...
Read More »
cover for a web post

Apply Now: Mentoring Programmes for Female Doctoral Candidates and Postdoctoral Researchers at the University of Cologne

Are you planning your next career steps in academia or considering career prospects outside of the university? The University of Cologne’s mentoring programmes in HR ...
Read More »
cover for a web post

Call for Applications: Two PhD Scholarships in our Project B06 “Digital Agrarian Futures”

Our sub-project B06 “Digital Agrarian Futures” is currently seeking applicants for two PhD scholarships. The project’s purpose is to understand the current unfolding of digital ...
Read More »
cattle in southern Africa

New Publication: Rethinking Rewilding – From the “Three C’s” to the “Three B’s”

Wisse Van Engelen, Paula Alexiou, Manuel Bollmann, Julia Brekl, Emilie Köhler, Léa Lacan, Hauke-Peter Vehrs and Michael Bollig from our sub-project A04 “Future Conservation” argue ...
Read More »
cover for a web post

From Savanna to Cropland: How Land-Use Change Impacts Soil Carbon Storage in Southern Africa

This paper, based on research from our sub-project A01 “Future Carbon Storage”, shows that converting Southern African savanna woodlands into cropland causes substantial losses of ...
Read More »
Scroll to Top