LOCALadk Magazine

LOCALadk Magazine Spring 2014 45 Bethany in Namibia's inland desert and application of successful wildlife use policies and practices." With a population of approximately 2 million, Namibia is one of the most sparsely populated countries in sub-Saharan Africa. It is predominantly dry and home of the Namib desert. From 1966 to 1989, Namibia was under the rule of South African Defense Forces. During this period, heavy commercial poaching operations took place, and wildlife numbers fell to all-time lows. In 1990 Namibia gained independence from South Africa and became one of the world's first nations to add environmental protection to its constitution. In 1994 a new approach to community-based natural resource management was launched, giving community members ownership rights to the land and wildlife management. Four conservancies were established and the model was highly successful. According to Namibia's Communal Conservancies Report in 2011, by the end of the year the number of conservancies in Namibia neared 66 and covered 17.8% of the land. Today, 41.5% of the total land surface of Namibia is under conservation management, either through conservancies, freelance conservancies, or state areas. Similar to the Adirondack State Park, Namibia focuses on the relationship between natural resource management and people's livelihoods. Day 6: Swakopmund We arrived in Swakopmund as the sun was setting. I wiggled my way through the bus luggage, sleeping classmates, and water containers to emerge in the cool breeze of the South Atlantic. With Anu Singh, my classmate and good friend from Nepal, I ran down the strip a quarter of a mile; we pulled off our shoes and danced in the cold waves of the ocean. We laughed and took pictures. After miles upon miles of desert and sand dunes, the water was rejuvenating. Singh's dark hair flew behind her as she explored the ocean for the first time in her life. Swakopmund is an old German establishment and a hot spot for tourists. (I'm currently trying to get some sleep, though the car stereos of my German neighbors are thumping loud enough to vibrate the glass of water on my night stand. I was naive to think I'd be able to escape American pop culture and Miley Cyrus for a month). From 1884 until the beginning of World War I, Swakopmund was under the colonial rule of Germany until it was overtaken by South Africa. Though English is the official language of Namibia, German and Afrikaans are more commonly spoken. When Singh and I were down by the ocean, I watched the big cargo ships move over the horizon and thought about exploration and how it has transformed the world. Every African country except Ethiopia has been colonized at some point in history by a European power.

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