Page 64 - Gondwana Value Creation Report 2020

HOW WE MAKE AN IMPACT Light of Hope CAN/8 West Wing PLANET

Our responsibility to the planet comes before our focus on profits. We believe the wilderness
CHAIN
Little Bugs
and its inhabitants deserve respect and protection.
Bridge of Hope
Moraliswani Pre-school
Dagbreek Special School
Dumpsite Kids Why our environment is important
Elshadai Caring and Feeding
Namibia’s unique natural environment is integral to the experience our guests enjoy, and we need to protect it. As the country’s population increases, we place more pressure on the environment, especially in
Namushasha Pre-primary
terms of water, which has been extremely scarce due to droughts in recent years. We have also seen lower water quality, soil erosion and desertification.
Don Bosco Primary
Many travellers are increasingly environmentally conscious, to the point where some factor in their flights’ carbon emissions when deciding where to travel. As a key player in the Namibian tourism industry, it is
Epupa Primary School up to us to minimise our environmental impact to give our guests comfort about their decision to visit Namibia.
Dordabis Primary
Ovitoto and Genade Children’s Home
School beneficiaries
supported through the Heal the Land What we do for our environment
School Christmas Bag PAY Centre Geduld Primary Covid-19 impact on our environment We have always seen tourism as a way to finance conservation.
project The full impact of Covid-19 lockdowns and travel Our operations are intrinsically geared for sustainability.
Paukeni Pre-school restrictions on the environment is not yet quantifiable, but
Hope Village there have been both positive and negative effects.
Penehupifo Kindergarten We can reasonably assume the reduced noise and dust
Kanono Centre (air) pollution benefited local wildlife. Unfortunately, EFFICIENT ENERGY USAGE
poaching incidents were on the rise, due to the following 5. ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
Mammadu factors: 1. AND INNOVATIVE ENERGY
Kalimbeza Kindergarten ○ Eco-tourism curbs poaching by putting eyes on the SOLUTIONS

Soetdoringlaagte ground, which was impossible this year SPARING USE OF PRECIOUS SELF-SUSTAINING SUPPLY OF
Kalundu ○ Tourism and trophy hunting are large financers of 2. WATER 6. FOOD
conservation efforts; in their absence, there were fewer
Stepping Stone resources to combat poaching and conservancies
Ohajuura Junior and Senior primary school needed to rely on donor funding from non-governmental A COMMITMENT TO
organisation (NGOs) and governmental organisations 3. RESPONSIBLE WASTE 7.
Welwitschia Primary School MANAGEMENT NATURE CONSERVATION
○ The economic downturn put citizens in financial distress,
Khabaisen Centre which made some of them turn to crime, including poaching
Witkrans Primary School At our lodges, lower occupancies, alongside new measures, SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION ECO-FRIENDLY LODGES AND
Lidar Foundation reduced our water and energy usage and increased our 4. METHODS 8. LODGE ACTIVITIES
overall consumption per guest. However, as lodges were
Our eyes are on the future closed, we could not consistently monitor their water
consumption, which interrupted the data we would
With the economic outlook for tourism and its recovery still unsure, we have to secure and strengthen strategic partnerships with normally compare to previous sets, and our efficiency
other businesses to ensure the continuity of our projects such as the MealForTwo and the School Christmas Bag programmes. measures such as water consumption per person were not
We need to continue supporting self-sustaining projects such as community gardens and primary education projects. comparable to previous years due to lack of guests and The reason Gondwana was founded was to reinvigorate the fauna and flora in the Fish River Canyon – an area that was desolated by
decades of unsustainable grazing and recurring droughts. In over 24 years in operation, we have not lost sight of this dedication – we
We integrated the Trust into Gondwana Collection operations to streamline administration and project implementation. smaller and rotating employee complements. serve Namibia.
In the long term, the Board would like to see the Trust being used even more as a corporate social investment channel through We take direction from strict environmental policies ensuring each lodge has an environmental plan that is diligently implemented.
which Gondwana partners with other Namibian stakeholders to lead a national effort.

62 VALUE CREATION REPORT 2020 GONDWANA COLLECTION NAMIBIA 63