Page 73 - Gondwana Collection Namibia Value Creation Report 2021

HOW WE MAKE AN IMPACT

Environmental education In 2021, the Fish Guards did an outstanding job. They confiscated
Educating individuals to be good environmental citizens is some of the most important work we do. This benefits our children and generations over 250 kilometres of illegal fishing nets and arrested 15 The Adopt-a-Quiver Tree initiative The proof of our success
yet to come. We support initiatives that foster a sense of responsibility for the environment among our employees and communities. We design perpetrators. These efforts have resulted in a significant increase Plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, transforming it into leaves, wood and roots. This everyday miracle can Annual Plant-a-Tree Day
and facilitate courses on environmental protection for our employees. We work with communities to clean up the areas surrounding our lodges. in fish stocks in the area. act as a national brake on climate change. Yet climate change also affects plants, causing a decline in biodiversity. Quiver
trees were declared to be endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources in 2010. We faced a variety of challenges this year, sadly, reducing how
Mathias Tsameya, the Gondwana Canyon Park Warden, attended an anti-poaching and operation security training course organised by the The Trust recently secured a donation of six tents and two This is primarily due to climate change and the increasing heat and decreasing rainfall in southern Namibia. many trees we were able to plant. This does not deter us, and
Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism. The training also included fire-arm handling and safety, survival skills, map reading, self- spotlights from the Community Conservation Fund of Namibia we aim to plant 2 000 trees in Namibia by the end of 2022.
defence, tracking, first aid and crime scene preservation. Mathias shared his learnings with the rest of the Gondwana Canyon Park rangers. for the project. This makes the guards’ sleeping and living area At Canyon Village, in southern Namibia, travellers are greeted by small clusters of quiver trees, which can grow up to nine metres
more secure and comfortable. The spotlights are used during night tall. The quiver tree derives its name from the traditions of the San people of Namibia, who commonly used the hollow branches to Adopt-a-Tree project
Mathias and Stephanie De Lange, members of the Environmental and Social Impact Team, facilitated environmental and fauna and flora patrols along the river. make quivers for their arrows. The quiver tree is an essential source of moisture for a wide variety of mammals, birds and insects
guiding training at various lodges. After installing the Damara Mopane Lodge indigenous tree nursery, Mathias conducted training on Guests pay for a tree to be planted in communal areas at lodges.
indigenous tree cultivation with the lodge’s gardening and maintenance employees. The year 2021 finally brought the return of good rainfall to our The quiver tree is of national importance. Alongside the Welwitschia, it is Namibia’s national plant symbol. Without being The respective community will be given the funds received from
drought-stricken southern Namibia. These rains, aided by good aware of it, we hold this symbol in our hands daily, embossed on the 50-cent coin. As the emblem of the Namibia Tourism the guests for the planting and nurturing of each tree.
parks management, have meant exponential veld recovery. Board, the quiver tree is a symbol of Namibia as a travel destination. We planted
The proof of our success With increased grazing, we no longer had to feed the wildlife at
Gondwana Kalahari Park and Gondwana Canyon Park. The parks’ Due to long periods of drought in recent years, young quiver trees have battled to establish themselves. As older trees 323 trees
die and the younger trees struggle, tree numbers have declined. In response, Gondwana began the quiver tree project in
Ten members of the local conservancies also joined in on the training, focusing on waste
217 management and clean-ups at Chobe River Camp. management teams continue to manage the game closely as we Gondwana Canyon Park in the early 2000’s. The park rangers have been collecting quiver tree seeds for over 20 years.
expect rainfall to be more sporadic going forward.
Young trees are then cultivated from seed in our Holoog nursery.
Gondwana employees attended Related SDGs and targets Strong rainfall leads to good grass growth. The downside In 2021, Gondwana kicked off the Adopt-a-Quiver Tree initiative. This encourages guests in 2021
courses on environmental of this is an increased risk of grass fires. We ensured that all and the public to contribute to the conversation of this unique succulent by adopting 2020: 345
management fire equipment at lodges and parks were in good operating a quiver tree. Sponsors receive a certificate with the GPS coordinates (location
condition. We also created fire breaks through controlled fires. 1 803
2020: 161 Teams were trained and conversant on our fire procedures. of their adopted tree(s)) and have the opportunity to visit their quiver tree on
This protected us as the expected fires swept across Namibia. their next visit to southern Namibia. In 2021, we planted 204 quiver trees at trees planted since the project began in 2018
Gondwana did not lose any veld to fire. the Holoog Nursery, of which 48 were thanks to sponsors of the Adopt-a-
Quiver Tree initiative. In 2022, we aim to have each of our private parks accredited
The drought in the Palmwag area continued, and our communities with Dark Sky status by the International Dark Sky Association.
continue to grapple with it. The continued drought also raises
Sustainable food production Our nature conservation efforts the incidence of human-wildlife conflict in the area, competing
for scarce resources. In partnership with other organisations, we
The Gondwana SSC, a farming operation at the Kalahari Farmhouse near According to The International Ecotourism Society, ecotourism secured 10 tonnes of feed (grass and lucerne) for the community
Stampriet, supplies all lodges with fresh vegetables and organic meat. can be defined as “responsible travel to natural areas that to feed their livestock during the height of the drought.
The farm has hothouses, an on-site butchery and a smokehouse. This conserve the environment, sustains the wellbeing of the local As guardians of nature,
farm has access to a constant water supply from a multi-layered aquifer. people, and involves interpretation and education”. Light pollution washes out starlight in the night sky and disrupts
ecosystems. As Namibia develops, light pollution becomes we minimise our
A community-based sustainable agricultural company, ROOTs, purchased Gondwana lives up to this definition by improving the challenging. We take the necessary steps to minimise light
approximately 4 000 hectares in the farmlands near the Kalahari environmental health and biodiversity in the areas where we pollution at our lodges. environmental footprint
Farmhouse. It employs community members to cultivate a range of operate. We work in harmony with our communities to support
vegetables and fruits. Gondwana buys produce from ROOTS’ distribution the revitalisation of plant and animal species. Our work with We run an annual tree-planting programme to improve our
partner, Kercon Food Enterprises, for our lodges and the MealForTwo communities always involves an element of education. environment and combat climate change. We grow indigenous and maximise our
programme. These companies also manage the vegetable gardens at trees at Holoog Nursery at Fish River Canyon and the Zambezi
the SSC. This strategic partnership enables Gondwana to focus on the Five of our lodges are based on the banks of the perennial Mubala Camp. This year we planted 323 young trees in the positive impact.
butchery while still receiving affordable and high-quality vegetables. rivers. These river systems are vitally important to communities surrounding us. We established two new nurseries
communities and wildlife. We contribute and support the at Damara Mopane Lodge and Namushasha River Lodge.
Etosha King Nehale, the Zambezi Collection and Kalahari Anib protection of these sensitive areas. Seedlings are cultivated in these nurseries, and once mature
Lodge buy eggs and perishable goods from local suppliers. Our human footprint
The Sikunga Fish Protection project oversees the enough, will be planted in the wild.
Gondwana’s lodges embrace self-sufficiency through gardens to protection of fish stocks in the Sikunga fish protection area Gondwana regularly removes alien and invader plants. If left
cater for their basic fruit and vegetable requirements. in the Zambezi fish. A team of permanently employed Fish unchecked, these plants spread quickly and overtake indigenous Gondwana Canyon Park: 0.4%
Guards patrol the area to prevent illegal fishing. They also flora. Over the past decades, we removed the prosopis tree in
protect a carmine bee-eater colony on the river banks, the Gondwana Kalahari and Canyon parks. In recent years, we
The proof of our success one of Africa's largest breeding colonies. The project is removed wonderboom at the Omarunga Epupa-Falls Camp Gondwana Kalahari Park: 1.2%
At Damara Mopane Lodge, each guest room has its vegetable supported by The Gondwana Care Trust with partners like and deadly rubber vine at the Palmwag Lodge and Camp. We
garden. These supply 80% of the lodge’s required produce. the FirstRand Namibia Foundation Trust. Both Zambezi monitor regrowths each season to remove plants before they
Mubala Lodge and Camp make monthly contributions Gondwana Namib Park: 0.6%
Most of our lodges have netted tunnels where herbs, tomatoes, to the project. Gondwana also helps with administration, become established.
lettuce and cabbage are grown. technical and logistical support to the project.

68 VALUE CREATION REPORT 2021 GONDWANA COLLECTION NAMIBIA 69