Local action for Rhino Protection

Save the Rhino Trust (SRT) is a key player in one of Africa’s greatest wildlife recovery stories: the comeback of the black rhino population from the brink of extinction. SRT is one of Namibia’s oldest and most respected NGOs, established forty years ago to put an end to the rampant poaching decimating the rhino population. SRT takes a grassroots approach, working with local communities to monitor and protect rhinos, while also engaging with the Namibian government and other conservation stakeholders to ensure broad buy-in and support. Today, Namibia is home to 34% of the world’s remaining black rhino population. 

By developing and implementing locally-grown solutions, poaching has reduced by almost 80%. Communities have a strong sense of ownership and pride in being the stewards of the world’s last remaining free-ranging black rhinos. They also benefit from income opportunities from tourism that depended on the presence of rhinos. 

Major conservation gains were made over the past two decades to secure a future for black rhinos outside protected areas. SRT’s scope has expanded in the past year, and though their ‘heartland’ remains the Kunene Region, they are doing more innovative work in the region and taking on advisory roles at a national and international level. 

SRT’s CEO, Simson Uri-Khob, was awarded the 2021 Prince William Award for Conservation in Africa