Integrated approach to proactive management of human-wildlife conflict and wildlife crime in hotspot landscapes in Namibia To incentivize wildlife conservation through proactive management of human-wildlife conflict and wildlife crime, and delivery of wildlife-based benefits to rural communities in three hotspot landscapes Note: Disbursement data provided is cumulative and covers disbursement made by the project Agency. The project beneficiaries include the following communities living in conservancies across the three hotspot landscapes: the San people in the north-central region (Hai||om and !Kung ) and north-east regions (Khwe and !Kung); the Ovahimba, Ovatjimba, Ovazemba and Ovatue communities in the semi- arid north-west Kunene Region; the Damara people, mainly in the north-western regions; the Ovaherero people in the north-central region; Ovambo people across the northern regions; the Kavango people in the north-east regions; and the Riemvasmakers in the north-west region.  The developmental premise for the project is that if these local communities are to continue to live together with wildlife in conservancies, they will need to derive meaningful benefits from wildlife (and their associated natural habitats) in order to rationalize ongoing wildlife conservation efforts in conservancies.  The project will target delivery of the following socio-economic benefits - as incentives for wildlife conservation - to the rural communities living in conservancies in the hotspot landscapes:   - Optimizing income opportunities for conservancies, and the distribution of benefits (in the form of cash benefits, social investments or in-kind benefits) to conservancy members, from JV nature-based tourism enterprises (NBT) (Output 3.1).  - developing entrepreneurial opportunities for small conservancy-based businesses to deliver goods, supplies and services to the JV NBT enterprises (Output 3.1).  - Expanding employment opportunities for conservancy members from: (i) nature-based tourism (NBT) enterprises (Output 3.1); (ii) ancillary NBT support businesses (Output 3.1); (iii) anti-poaching enforcement in conservancies (Output 2.1); (iii) HWC monitoring and mitigation measures in conservancies (Outputs 1.2 and 1.3); and (iv) wildlife monitoring and research in conservancies (Outputs 1.4 and 2.2).   -  Strengthening the individual skills and capacities of conservancy members to improve employment and career opportunities (Output 3.2);   -  diversifying income streams in conservancies, and distribution of benefits to conservancy members, to help strengthen community resilience to episodic events such as drought, floods and global pandemics (Output 3.3).   - Encouraging investment in the broader rural economy, as conservancies and conservancy members become significant local spenders (Component 3).  - Increasing the participation of rural women, ensuring equitable distribution of benefits to rural women and youth, and assuring just access of rural women to WC/HWC knowledge, in conservancies (Outputs 4.1 and 4.2).  -Mitigating the costs to conservancy members of living with wildlife through prevention (keeping wildlife away from villages, crops and livestock) (Outputs 1.2 and 1.3) and HWC self-reliance schemes (cash payments to those who have suffered losses as a consequence of HWC) (Output 1.1 and Output 3.3).  -  Reducing poaching by crime syndicates of the high-value wildlife species being sought out by regional and international tourists to conservancy JV NBT enterprises (Output 2.1).  - Reducing theft by local poachers of the game species being sustainably harvested for meat under the quota system for conservancy members (Output 3.1).     It is envisaged that at least 4,520 people (of which 2,300 are male and 2,220 female) will benefit directly from project-supported activities and at least 18,100 (of which 7,900 are male and 10,200 female) individuals will benefit indirectly.  With the true value of wildlife conservation increasingly recognized by conservancy members as a viable and complementary land use in conservancies, the project will thus contribute to the maintenance of very large contiguous areas – linking national parks and community-conserved areas - under a sustainable wildlife management regime across the north-east, north-central and north-west regions of Namibia. This connectivity between national parks and adjacent communal conservation areas will be particularly important in the arid environments, where wildlife need to be able to move in response to both dry and moist conditions to find adequate forage to survive. Increased landscape connectivity is also vital to ensuring environmental resilience and countering the impacts of climate change.