1. Nature Conservation in Gondwana Cañon Park, Namibia
Kieryn Graham
Development Challenge
Summer 2011

2. Namibia and Gondwana Cañon Park
Gondwana Collection: Gondwana Kalahari, Sperrgebiet Rand, Namib and Cañon parks
Gondwana’s philosophy: Tourism, nature and people
Characterized by extremely delicate arid savannahs and desert
Rich reptile fauna and high diversity of invertebrates
Threats to fauna:
Overgrazing (desertification)
Land transformation
-Four deserts overlap in Southern Namibia
-Gondwana Canon Park was the first established
-Without nature, no tourists; without tourists, no nature conservation and no jobs; without staff and the support of communities, no hospitality business and no game-keeping.
-More income is generated with beds than with goats, more and better jobs are created, and much less of a strain is put on nature.
-Land transformation by agriculture, mining, and development
-Extreme water scarcity

3. Goals, fieldwork and projects undertaken
Park Monitoring and Research:
General monitoring – camera-traps, event-book records, climate monitoring
Annual game count
Monitoring of reintroduced Black Rhinos
Leopard monitoring and research
Birding
Park Management and Maintenance:
Boundaries and fences
Game count routes
Waterholes
-Camera-trap set-up, maintenance and data analysis (baboon and rhino-proofing); rain gauges
-Elaborate on my leopard research and results to date

4. Skills developed Field techniques:
Camera traps
Game count techniques
Tracking techniques and identification of spoor
Techniques for analyzing data:
GIS modeling and mapping technology
StripeSpotter

5. Conclusions Future leopard research Tourism, nature and people
Nature conservation in Namibia:
Open Systems
Conservancies
Future leopard research
Tourism, nature and people