60 Africa Books Reading Challenge discussion

Covering the whole life and work of a young man trying to find his way in southern African and his eventual success in community-based natural resource management in rural northwestern Namibia, this is the story of a love affair with the land sine the first time he laid eyes on it. Perhaps a difficult or long read for some, I found the story intriguing and page-turning about his exploratory adventures with people and wildlife in remote and unknown areas. He was ever observant and thoughtfully immersed in the world around him.

Owen-Smith appreciated Namibia’s wildlife and scenery for it’s intrinsic value, however in a world where the locals were beginning to require money in a newly commercialized society, the wildlife needed to provide an economic benefit as well. Tourism and trophy hunting in community-managed conservancies seems to be the winning combination in the region as they saw wildlife increase in this true, unfenced wilderness.

The key to this conservation success story is the involvement of the local communities that live with the wildlife. Their ownership over the land and wildlife assets has empowered the communities.

This tells in great detail about Garth Owen Smith's finally successful attempts to introduce conservation to Africa in a way that would be accepted by the indigenous tribes. He did this in a manner that was commonly based in Kaokoveld and Northwest Namibia. Now tourists choose Namibia as a wildlife destination. Included were many of the locals' interesting customs. It was terrible to learn of the racism and severe punishments that were used.

The Himta men amazingly have the ability to walk with no problem from sunrise to sunset without resting. Lions were considered to be the devil-they killed many men. Poaching was a major problem discussed throughout-horrifically it still remains a problem today.

A very long, detailed account of this man's life work. A good read if you want to truly understand the region and the history of the areas conservation efforts.