Justicia Shipena
A 90-year-old woman in Damaraland’s Kunene region needs approximately N$45 000 to install an electric fence around her garden.
Known as Ouma Elsie, she has cared for her garden for over 70 years.
She settled on her homestead at the age of 20 and has grown vegetables and fruits like spinach, tomatoes, carrots, onions, cabbage, watermelon, sweet potatoes, beetroot, and strawberries.
In 2020, the Elephant Human Relations Aid (EHRA), a Namibian non-profit, built a stone wall around her garden to keep elephants out.
The wall helped for a while, but elephants eventually broke through.
Damaraland is home to desert-adapted elephants and black rhinos.
Elephants often destroy crops while searching for food and water, bringing them into conflict with local farmers.
Despite the damage, Ouma Elsie remains committed to her garden.
Her strength and patience earned her the Human-Elephant Coexistence Award.
EHRA is now raising funds to install an electric fence as a more effective and humane way to protect the garden and the elephants.
“We are now raising N$40 000 to N$45 000 to install an electric fence around her garden. This is the most effective and humane solution we have found to protect her garden while keeping elephants safe,” said Laura Braune, social media marketing manager at EHRA.
EHRA works to protect both people and elephants by monitoring elephant movements, building barriers, and teaching locals how to coexist with wildlife through initiatives like the Elephant Guard Program.
Human-wildlife conflict has been increasing across the country.
In 2022, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism paid out N$15.1 million in compensation over three years.
There were 139 cases reported in 2020, 201 in 2021, 188 in 2022, and over 180 from January to mid-August 2023.
In March, then-deputy minister of health and social services Esther Muinjangue tabled a motion in parliament calling on the government to investigate the link between human livelihoods and wildlife survival.
The motion emphasised the need to take stronger action in areas affected by conflict.
Earlier this month, the environment and tourism ministry announced it will allocate N$346 million to the wildlife and protected area management programme for the 2025/2026 financial year.
The program supports park management, wildlife protection, human-wildlife conflict mitigation, and Namibia’s community-based natural resource management program.
Minister Indileni Daniel told Parliament that for the 2024/2025 financial year, the ministry spent nearly N$9 million on payouts to 86 communal conservancies for crop and livestock losses.
Another N$3.4 million will go to communities outside conservancies to cover damages from wildlife, including loss of life, injuries, and property.
