Concessions
The role of protected areas in Namibia is to promote the conservation of natural resources and wildlife habitat in Namibia and the sustainable use of wildlife resources. Concessions provide opportunities for business development in these areas. They allow visitors to Namibia’s parks access to locations that are ordinarily inaccessible. Concessions also diversify the range of opportunities on offer and generate additional revenue from the conservation and sensible use of Namibia’s indigenous plant and wildlife resources.
Concession activities generally lend themselves to high value, low impact tourism activities. The State land, including protected areas that is potentially suitable for concession areas is located in fragile environments. The awarding of concession rights requires care so as to avoid negative impacts and to maintain the value of our landscapes, scenery, culture, historic sites and ecology.
A concession allows a community, conservancy or privately owned tourism business to operate a business on State land. They are a legal and binding contract between the Government and the concessionaire. Type of concessions include:
• Tourism concessions that could entail the right to develop a lodge or camps within a specified area; conduct tourism services such as guided tours or offer more specialized tourism activities such as adventure tourism, aerial site-seeing or kiosks;
• Trophy hunting concessions that represent valuable hunting experiences and economic incentives;
• Concessions may also include harvesting of valuable plan material such as medicinal plants, thatching grass or plan and animals species for bio-prospecting.
Established in 2007, the MET’s Concessions function was established to further economic, community development and environmental benefits to Namibia, and is guided by the Namibian Governments Policy on Tourism and Wildlife Concessions on State Lands that was approved by Cabinet in 2007.
The Tourism and Wildlife Concessions Policy is designed to guide the fair, transparent and efficient awarding of concessions on State lands, especially in Namibia’s protected areas.
Namibia’s objectives for tourism and wildlife concessions are to:
• Promote economic empowerment of formerly disadvantaged Namibians and their entrance into the tourism, hunting and wildlife-based industries;
• Provide support to ensure the development of capacity, skills and to facilitate access to capital for all Namibians to meet concession requirements;
• Enhance the conservation of biodiversity and maintenance of ecological integrity in proclaimed protected areas and on other State land;
• Enhance through concessions the economic value of proclaimed protected areas, wildlife and plant resources;
• Enhance the ability of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) to effectively manage proclaimed protected areas and wildlife resources, to control and monitor concession operations; and
• Use concessions as a means of promoting sustainable development, poverty alleviation and employment creation in protected areas and on other State land.
Concession Benefits
There is a range of direct and indirect beneficiaries (such as local stores, petrol stations, craft suppliers and others) from successful concession businesses. Some of the direct benefits are:
Benefits for a Community: Concessions awarded to communities in or adjacent to a protected area provide that community with the opportunity to generate income and employment, learn new skills and become involved in a business. They help people to value their own culture while still conserving the area in which they and wildlife live. Preference will generally be given to awarding concessions to communities immediately in or adjacent to a park where such opportunities have the potential to provide the greatest socio-economic impact at a local level. These communities can have the greatest impact on the park while they are also likely to be the most negatively affected by wildlife or by loss of access to land and resources.
Benefits for an Operator: Where the local community develops their own operation, enters into an agreement with a private operator, or if a private operator wishes to start a business then the concession provides that business with a legal and secure tenure to operate in a protected area for a specified timeframe, therefore enabling a secure investment to be made. The concession is an asset that adds value to the operation providing a legal right that may then be used to access capital.
Benefits for a Protected Area and the State: Concessions allow activities within protected areas to take place in a manner that ensures the park remains conserved. They also provide much needed revenue for the parks and allow visitors to have a safe and enjoyable visit. Concession operators may be required to assist with certain management activities such as maintaining tracks or signs or gathering information about the area.
Key concession facts
|
Number of concessions |
31 (including hunting) |
|
Income from concessions |
N$15 million per annum |
|
Staff employed (FTE) |
Three (1xMET, 2xSPAN) |
|
Processing time frames for small concessions |
3–12 months |
|
Processing time frames for large concessions |
12–24 months |
|
Preferred allocation method |
Direct award to communities, tender, auction and direct award to applicants for new and innovative proposals |
For more information on the tourism, wildlife or plant collection concessions, please contact:
The Concessions Unit
Ministry of Environment and Tourism
Directorate of Parks and Wildlife Management
Private Bag 13306, Windhoek
Tel: + 264 61–2842518
Fax: + 264 61-239506
To download the Concessions Policy flyer, click here.
To download the Guidelines for Concession Applicants, click here.