Our Commitment to Nature Conservation comes a long way

One of the core pillars of Gondwana’s Sustainability philosophy is the Planet. Gondwana’s dedicated Environmental and Social Impact Department, along with Park Management Teams at our various private Nature Parks, implement and monitor nature conservation initiatives that are multi-faceted. Designed to minimise human footprint and maximise conservation impact, our efforts restore and rewild nature through eco-tourism activities while offering memorable guest experiences. The Gondwana Canyon Park, where Gondwana started as a nature conservation dream in the early 1990s, continues to implement nature conservation initiatives that are tailored to current conservation concerns in southern Namibia’s Fish River Canyon Landscape.

The area that is now the Gondwana Canyon Park has a history of intensive livestock farming practices, which resulted in a loss of wildlife species in the area. Initially, a single farm was acquired in the 1990s to practice sustainable eco-tourism which has since expanded to encompass a vast 116 000 ha of protected area for ecosystem restoration. The area’s climatic conditions are characterised by extreme temperatures and unpredictable, average annual rainfall ranging from 50 to 200 mm, as well as periods of extended drought. Due to the sensitive nature of the Fish River Canyon Landscape, the effects of climate change on its ecosystems are exacerbated. This threatens the landscape’s limited resources such as water and grazing, and its various biodiversity populations, such as wildlife species and Namibia’s iconic Quiver trees. In efforts to ensure the long-term viability and health of the park’s biodiversity amidst stark climate change conditions, numerous nature conservation initiatives have been implemented, covering aspects of veld, water, and wildlife management – with notable positive results.

Veld and vegetation monitoring is a vital management component in environmental management. Wildlife health is intricately linked to veld health, as a thriving veld provides essential resources that sustain wildlife populations. The Fish River Canyon Landscape’s aridity and ecological sensitivity necessitates holistic, well-informed management of the area’s veld and vegetation to ensure that adequate resources are available to sustain its wildlife populations. To monitor veld quality, an annual photographic assessment of 16 locations across the park is conducted. At each location, or set photo point, panoramic photographs are taken and compared to photographic data of previous years for analysis. This provides a visual indication of veld health and ecosystem succession, informing decision making on wildlife management. Park Teams further conduct scientific vegetation surveys, called step-point transect lines, to identify grass species and determine, as well as anticipate, grass biomass available to wildlife throughout the park.  

Borehole monitoring is another vital component of environmental management. Throughout the park, water for wildlife is supplied at numerous waterholes, drawing from underground water sources via boreholes. In efforts to ensure sustainable water usage and improve efficiency, borehole health is measured through borehole performance evaluations. This includes water testing, keeping track of structural integrity, and measuring water levels and flow or extraction rates to determine yield per hour. These evaluations aid in monitoring water usage over time and indicate viability of limited water resources, ensuring that adequate resources are available for wildlife while honoring ecological thresholds.

In efforts to manage wildlife populations, Gondwana conducts annual game counts in all its nature parks. Game counts are ideally conducted during the winter season when visibility is clearer due to sparse vegetation, and wildlife species are easier to count and identify. Daily sightings of wildlife are also recorded throughout the park. This assists in determining their preferred areas within the park, which is important in managing park veld and boreholes, and can indicate areas of abundant or scarce resources. Furthermore, wildlife species are also monitored using camera traps that are strategically placed throughout the park; this aids in species identification, estimating population sizes, and often captures interesting wildlife interactions and rare sightings.  

Some of the park’s nature conservation initiatives, notably the Adopt-a-Quiver Tree project and the re-introduction of historically indigenous wildlife species, promotes ecosystem restoration. Arid ecosystems are uniquely sensitive environments where lost species can result in cascading negative effects on ecosystem health. By re-introducing indigenous biodiversity species, ecosystem integrity is restored as biodiversity populations are finally returned home where they know how to thrive. An adaptive, holistic management approach that includes all aspects of environmental management – veld, water, and wildlife – ensures that ecosystem connections are nurtured, and that natural resources of the Gondwana Canyon Park are sustained and can thrive once more.