Allexer Namundjembo
The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has assured residents of the newly declared Etosha Lyomongwa Conservancy in the Oshikoto region that they can continue collecting salt as usual.
The ministry dismissed public claims that the conservancy’s new status would restrict traditional practices or indicate a land sale.
Ministry spokesperson Ndeshipanda Hamunyela told the Windhoek Observer that the area’s declaration changes nothing about community access.
“People will continue to collect salt as usual. There are no restrictions from the ministry or from the conservancy itself due to the area’s new status,” she said.
Hamunyela explained that registering an area as a conservancy gives the community the right to manage it and benefit from wildlife and tourism, without transferring ownership to the government.
“The status of the land remains unchanged; it does not become a national or game park,” she emphasised.
She also dismissed rumours that the area had been sold, describing such claims as “incorrect and misleading”.
The Etosha Lyomongwa Conservancy, located in the Omuntele Constituency, was officially declared under the Nature Conservation Ordinance of 1975 and published in a government gazette on 17 September 2025.
It spans about 132 651 hectares, stretching from the Etosha National Park fence through villages such as Okalonga, Etopelyombidhi, Etambo, and Epumbu.
Last month, environment and tourism minister Indileni Daniel said the declaration marks a milestone for community-based conservation in Namibia, empowering residents to manage and benefit from natural resources sustainably.
Namibia’s conservancy model, introduced in the late 1990s, grants rural communities legal rights to manage wildlife and tourism ventures on communal lands.
There are now more than 86 registered conservancies nationwide, covering over 20% of the country’s land area and generating millions annually through ecotourism, trophy hunting, and conservation-related jobs.
The Etosha Lyomongwa Conservancy joins this growing network, aiming to balance environmental protection with economic opportunity for its people.
