Namibia Launches Black Rhino Association to Strengthen Conservation Network
Namibia has established the Black Rhino Association of Namibia (BRAN), a formal platform designed to unite the country's network of private and communal black rhino custodians. The association held its first Annual General Meeting in May 2026, bringing together representatives from communal and freehold custodians, the Namibia Nature Foundation, WWF Namibia, Save the Rhino Trust and the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism. The launch comes after more than three decades of custodian-based conservation operating largely through individual site agreements, often without a shared structure for collaboration or collective advocacy.
BRAN aims to strengthen self-reliance among custodians by improving information sharing on rhino movements, health and population trends, supporting training and skills development, and giving custodians a stronger collective voice in national conservation planning. Namibia's black rhino custodianship model - initiated in 1993 and expanded to communal conservancies in 2005 - has produced one of the few free-ranging black rhino populations outside designated protected areas in Africa, generating employment and tourism income for communities across the country. Persistent poaching, recurring droughts and rising operational costs continue to place pressure on the network, making BRAN's coordinating role increasingly relevant to the long-term security of the population.
Source: Save The Rhino
