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Prince Harry In Namibia As Part Of Three-Month African Conservation Project

Published on: July 17, 2015 at 10:11 AM
By Anne Sewell

Prince Harry recently completed a 10-year stint in the army and has turned his attention to endangered animal conservation work in Africa. In standing with his brother Prince William, Harry supports the Tusk Trust charity, working against so-called “trophy hunting” and protecting endangered rhinos.

Prince Harry will be working on several projects over the next three months, firstly in Namibia — where he has been situated for the last three weeks — and also South Africa, Botswana, and Tanzania.

However, his decision to head off to Africa for three months has brought Prince Harry a certain amount of criticism from those already in Africa, who say his efforts are no more than an “adventure holiday.”

It was in Namibia that the criticism first cropped up, with Pohamba Shifeta, Minister of Environment and Tourism, saying that he fears the royal visit will turn into a publicity stunt.

“Harry is not the first prominent person to visit Namibia and get involved with its conservation projects. We receive a lot of prominent people. We appreciate this, but we don’t want it to turn into a public relations exercise.”

According to the Daily Mail , Wonder Gochu, news editor at Namibia’s biggest newspaper, the Namibian , had said that Prince Harry’s presence in the country would have no impact at all on poaching.

“As long as there is a market for what the poachers are selling, Prince Harry could spend 10 or 20 years in the country and that would not make any difference. He should go to China, and campaign there, say, ‘Please don’t buy it.’”

Speaking of the poverty in a country where jobs and food are scarce, Gochu added, “This boy’s visit here will not change anything. People still go hungry, people who have no jobs will still have no jobs when he goes back.”

However despite the initial criticism and now three weeks into Prince Harry’s visit, things appear to be going just fine. He has been involved in several front-line animal conservation projects , and according to Shifeta, the 30-year-old royal is showing great enthusiasm and support in their efforts to combat rhino poaching.

Hello Magazine reports Prince Harry has also met with several community leaders surrounding the Etosha National Park , where 41 poachers were recently arrested as part of the increased security operation in the area.

According to Shifeta, pictured above, Prince Harry has been very down to earth and friendly during his visit and has showed a lot of interest in the approach Namibia is taking towards resolving the various problems.

The prince has visited the Save the Rhino and Desert Lion projects in the Kunene region of Namibia and will soon be heading off for similar visits in South Africa, Tanzania, and Botswana. Prince Harry will be working closely with the wildlife protection experts in the region along with Zimbabwe-born Dr. Pete Morkel, who is involved in the efforts to combat threats to the endangered black rhino.

Along the way, Prince Harry will also be looking at how the latest drone technology can be utilized by park rangers to spot the poachers and stop them in their tracks.

According to Kensington Palace, the African trip has been designed to “to give [Prince Harry] a first-hand insight into the urgent challenges faced by people on the ground working to protect Africa’s natural heritage and support both wildlife and local communities.”

In other recent royal news on the Inquisitr , it seems that despite leaving the army himself after a 10-year career, Prince Harry will encourage his nephew and niece Prince George and Princess Charlotte to join the military, saying the military has been good for him on a personal level.

[Photos: Prince Harry by Chris Jackson / Getty Images Entertainment – Black Rhino CC by 2.0 s9-4pr ]

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