Prince William Welcomed In Namibia With Rhino Statue
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, has landed in Namibia on Monday on the first leg of his African tour through the countries of Tanzania, and Kenya.
This tour is being undertaken in his official capacity as patron of the Royal African Society, patron of Tusk (promoting conservation), and as president of United for Wildlife (fighting against illegal wildlife trade), as reported by the Star. The trip comes ahead of the 2018 Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference next month in London.
Namibia is the home of the world’s largest population of black rhinos, who are hunted for their valuable horns. The country is home to approximately 2,000 of them. Namibian British High Commissioner Kate Airey spoke of Prince William’s eagerness to address the topic of wildlife conversation.
“The prince has been very keen ahead of that conference to talk to government and also to see that experience in the field.”
1996 legislation in Namibia means that local communities have the power “to create their own conservancies and benefit from wildlife on communal land, allowing them to work with private companies to create their own tourism products.”
“Our model is very simple but very effective because we involve communities. There is nothing you can do to succeed in the conservation of wildlife without involving communities,” said Namibia’s Environment and Tourism Minister Pohamba Shifeta.
The Duke of Cambridge presented Vice President Mbumba with a photograph of The Queen, taken on Her Majesty’s visit to Namibia in 1991 ???? pic.twitter.com/LKESo1PSp0
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) September 24, 2018
Communal conservancies now number 82 in Namibia, up from just four conservancies 20-years ago.
On arrival, William was also presented with a beautiful statuette of a rhino in bronze, according to Political Lore. The duke has been championing efforts to conserve and protect wildlife on the African content, and also protect the livelihoods of the people in Africa. He hopes to help end the threat of poaching in Africa.
“This will be a particular focus of my upcoming visit to Africa, and of course the conference on the illegal wildlife trade taking place here in London in October.”
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the Duke of Cambridge set off from Heathrow International Airport on Sunday in a British Airways A380 aircraft that was specially branded with the slogan #EndWildlifeCrime near the front of the plane.
William is expected to arrive in Kenya on Sunday, September 30, in what he has been calling “a renewal of his love for Africa.” During his time there, he will be visiting the 1st Battalion the Irish Guards Battlegroup, who is currently training in the country with the Kenyan infantry.
