Allexer Namundjebo
Rejection of Namibia’s proposals on rhino horn trade at the 20th Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) effectively communicates that even countries with proven conservation records will not be supported.
This was the message from the Namibia Professional Hunting Association (NAPHA), which has criticised the outcomes of the conference which was held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
CITES rejected Namibia’s proposals last week to lift the ban on the international trade in black and white rhino horns.
The conference adopted the voting results on Thursday.
NAPHA’s president, Hannes du Plessis, said the decisions marked a shift away from evidence-based wildlife management.
“Namibia has shown the world what successful conservation looks like. Our rhino populations are recovering because communities and professionals are part of the solution, not the problem,” he said.
Namibia had also sought approval to reverse the ban on African savanna elephant ivory, but that attempt failed as well.
The rhino horn proposals drew attention because Namibia had introduced the practice of removing rhino horns in 1989 so they would no longer hold value for poachers.
The country submitted two separate proposals, one concerning black rhinos and another concerning southern white rhinos.
Both proposals were overwhelmingly defeated. Only about 30 of roughly 120 participating parties supported them. Under CITES regulations, a proposal required a two-thirds majority to pass, a threshold Namibia did not meet.
He said Namibia brought science-based proposals rooted in decades of data, yet they were dismissed.
“The message seems to be that ideology comes before results,” he added.
Du Plessis said these measures strengthen conservation.
“This is not about opening floodgates or risking our rhinos. This is about responsible management of a species we have worked tirelessly to protect. Our communities have been living with wildlife, protecting it and benefiting from it. They deserve respect,” he said.
He criticises the influence of international lobby groups, saying their positions shape voting outcomes.
“The voices of range states are increasingly ignored. Decisions are driven by people who do not live with wildlife and who will never share the risks that rural Namibians carry every single day,” Du Plessis said.
He warned that blocking sustainable use strengthens criminal networks.
“If we cannot use our wildlife sustainably, we know exactly who gains, and it is not conservationists. Poachers thrive when conservation is underfunded,” he said.
NAPHA pointed to the achievements of the black rhino custodianship programme, launched in the early 1990s. Rhinos were moved to communal conservancies and private reserves where numbers increased.
Du Plessis credited this to Namibia’s conservation model.
“Our conservancies have proven that when people benefit from wildlife, they will protect it fiercely. This is why Namibia remains a global model,” he said.
The association also raised concern about efforts at the conference to extend CITES control into domestic ivory markets.
Du Plessis said this threatened national sovereignty.
“CITES was never meant to govern domestic trade. When multilateral bodies begin dictating internal policy, they overstep their mandate and erode trust,” he said.
Plessis argued that Namibian communities, scientists, and conservation professionals had done the difficult work, and the world praised their success while refusing to support the systems that made it possible.
He said this contradiction was unsustainable and unjust.
